Rules, Standards, and the Internal Point of View

Large scale structure and cosmolog

Carbon integral honeycomb monoliths as support of copper catalysts in the Kharasch–Sosnovsky oxidation of cyclohexene

Carbon integral honeycomb monoliths prepared from a natural coal were employed as support of copper catalysts for organic synthetic purposes. In particular good to excellent yields (60–100% as function of the carboxylic acid employed) were obtained in the preparation of allylic esters by the Kharasch–Sosnovsky oxidation of cyclohexene. Different characterization techniques such as chemical analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy, nitrogen physisorption, X-ray Diffraction with Rietveld analysis, X-ray Photoelectron and Raman Spectroscopies, Temperature-Programmed Reduction and Scanning Electron Microscopy allowed finding that key parameters such as textural properties, degree of copper precursor decomposition and active phase homogeneity and dispersion can be modulated as function of a simple synthetic variable: the method used to dry the monoliths after impregnation with the metal precursor, either conventional or using microwaves. The results obtained allow understanding the key role of the nature and chemical surrounding (O2 anions or OH groups) of Cu2+ ions in the catalytic activity in the reaction investigated as well as the operating deactivation mechanisms. The use of the structured catalysts here proposed also opens up an interesting alternative to homogeneous catalysis in the field of organic synthesis

Los vínculos entre estilos de aprendizaje y estrategias de motivación de estudiantes de Grado en Brasil y España

[ES] En este trabajo se realiza un análisis de los vínculos entre los estilos de aprendizaje y las estrategas de motivación de estudiantes de Grado de Administración y Dirección de Empresas de la Universidade Federal da Paraíba en Brasil y la Universitat Politècnica de València en España. Para ello, se encuestaron a un total de 106 estudiantes de los últimos cursos de Grado utilizando el inventario de los estilos de aprendizaje de David Kolb (1984) y las estratégias de motivación del MSLQ (Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionaire) de Pintrich et al. (1993), que contiene las siguientes componentes y subescalas: Valor (orientación intrínseca, orientación extrínseca, valor de la tarea), Expectativas (control sobre las creencias y autoeficacia) y Emoción (test de ansiedad). Los datos se analizaron obteniendo resultados descriptivos y de comparación de medias con muestras independientes y análisis de varianza. La primera sección de los resultados presenta el perfil de la muestra de los dos entornos investigados. Además, se muestran los resultados de los estilos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes por país y el desarrollo de las habilidades que forman los estilos. A continuación, se presenta un análisis de las estrategias de motivación. Los resultados indican diferencias en las estratégias de motivación intrínseca y valor de la tarea, así como que los estudiantes brasileños presentan mayores medias para estas dos dimensiones. Los niveles de ansiedad de los estudiantes en los dos países fueron bajos, con un índice de 3,18 para los estudiantes brasileños y 3,11 para los estudiantes españoles, siendo el valor máximo posible 7. Los resultados de la encuesta revelaron que no hay diferencias significativas entre las estrategias de motivación y los estilos de aprendizaje.Sistemas de aprendizaje en acción en el ámbito de la educación superior (PIME/2017/A07), Universitat Politècnica de València.Canós Darós, L.; Barbosa Da Silva, A.; Perelló Marín, MR.; Lima De Araujo Coelho, A.; Santandreu Mascarell, C. (2019). Los vínculos entre estilos de aprendizaje y estrategias de motivación de estudiantes de Grado en Brasil y España. En INNODOCT/18. International Conference on Innovation, Documentation and Education. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 615-624. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2018.2018.881961562

ATP5H/KCTD2 locus is associated with Alzheimer's disease risk

To identify loci associated with Alzheimer disease, we conducted a three-stage analysis using existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genotyping in a new sample. In Stage I, all suggestive single-nucleotide polymorphisms (at P<0.001) in a previously reported GWAS of seven independent studies (8082 Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases; 12 040 controls) were selected, and in Stage II these were examined in an in silico analysis within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium GWAS (1367 cases and 12904 controls). Six novel signals reaching P<5 × 10-6 were genotyped in an independent Stage III sample (the Fundació ACE data set) of 2200 sporadic AD patients and 2301 controls. We identified a novel association with AD in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase, H+ transporting, mitochondrial F0 (ATP5H)/Potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing protein 2 (KCTD2) locus, which reached genome-wide significance in the combined discovery and genotyping sample (rs11870474, odds ratio (OR)=1.58, P=2.6 × 10 -7 in discovery and OR=1.43, P=0.004 in Fundació ACE data set; combined OR=1.53, P=4.7 × 10 -9). This ATP5H/KCTD2 locus has an important function in mitochondrial energy production and neuronal hyperpolarization during cellular stress conditions, such as hypoxia or glucose deprivation

Distribution and outcomes of a phenotype-based approach to guide COPD management: Results from the CHAIN cohort

Rationale: The Spanish guideline for COPD (GesEPOC) recommends COPD treatment according to four clinical phenotypes: non-exacerbator phenotype with either chronic bronchitis or emphysema (NE), asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS), frequent exacerbator phenotype with emphysema (FEE) or frequent exacerbator phenotype with chronic bronchitis (FECB). However, little is known on the distribution and outcomes of the four suggested phenotypes. Objective: We aimed to determine the distribution of these COPD phenotypes, and their relation with one-year clinical outcomes. Methods: We followed a cohort of well-characterized patients with COPD up to one-year. Baseline characteristics, health status (CAT), BODE index, rate of exacerbations and mortality up to one year of follow-up were compared between the four phenotypes. Results: Overall, 831 stable COPD patients were evaluated. They were distributed as NE, 550 (66.2%); ACOS, 125 (15.0%); FEE, 38 (4.6%); and FECB, 99 (11.9%); additionally 19 (2.3%) COPD patients with frequent exacerbations did not fulfill the criteria for neither FEE nor FECB. At baseline, there were significant differences in symptoms, FEV1 and BODE index (all p<0.05). The FECB phenotype had the highest CAT score (17.1±8.2, p<0.05 compared to the other phenotypes). Frequent exacerbator groups (FEE and FECB) were receiving more pharmacological treatment at baseline, and also experienced more exacerbations the year after (all p<0.05) with no differences in one-year mortality. Most of NE (93%) and half of exacerbators were stable after one year. Conclusions: There is an uneven distribution of COPD phenotypes in stable COPD patients, with significant differences in demographics, patient-centered outcomes and health care resources use

A multi-stakeholder multicriteria decision analysis for the reimbursement of orphan drugs (FinMHU-MCDA study)

Background: Patient access to orphan medicinal products (OMPs) is limited and varies between countries, reimbursement decisions on OMPs are complex, and there is a need for more transparent processes to know which criteria should be considered to inform these decisions. This study aimed to determine the most relevant criteria for the reimbursement of OMPs in Spain, from a multi-stakeholder perspective, and using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA). Methods: An MCDA was developed in 3 phases and included 28 stakeholders closely related to the field of rare diseases (6 physicians, 5 hospital pharmacists, 7 health economists, 4 patient representatives and 6 members from national and regional health authorities). Initially [phase A], a bibliographic review was conducted to identify the potential reimbursement criteria. Then, a reduced advisory board (8 members) proposed, selected, and defined the final list of criteria that could be relevant for reimbursement. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) [phase B] was developed to determine the relevance and relative importance weight of such criteria according to the stakeholders’ preferences by choosing between pairs of hypothetical financing scenarios. A multinomial logit model was fitted to analyze the DCE responses. Finally [phase C], the advisory board review the results using a deliberative process. Results: Thirteen criteria were selected, related to 4 dimensions: patient population, disease, treatment, and economic evaluation. Nine criteria were deemed relevant for decision-making and associated with a higher relative importance: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) (23.53%), treatment efficacy (14.64%), availability of treatment alternatives (13.51%), disease severity (12.62%), avoided costs (11.21%), age of target population (7.75%), safety (seriousness of adverse events) (4.72%), quality of evidence (3.82%) and size of target population (3.12%). The remaining criteria had a < 3% relative importance: economic burden of disease (2.50%), cost of treatment (1.73%), cost-effectiveness (0.83%) and safety (frequency of adverse events) (0.03%). Conclusion: The reimbursement of OMPs in Spain should be determined by its effect on patient’s HRQL, the extent of its therapeutic benefit from efficacy and the availability of other therapeutic options. Furthermore, the severity of the rare disease should also influence the decision along with the potential of the treatment to avoid associated costs

Consenso colombiano de atención, diagnóstico y manejo de la infección por SARS-COV-2/COVID-19 en establecimientos de atención de la salud Recomendaciones basadas en consenso de expertos e informadas en la evidencia

The “Asociación Colombiana de Infectología” (ACIN) and the “Instituto de Evaluación de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Salud” (IETS) created a task force to develop recommendations for Covid 19 health care diagnosis, management and treatment informed, and based, on evidence. Theses reccomendations are addressed to the health personnel on the Colombian context of health services. © 2020 Asociacion Colombiana de Infectologia. All rights reserved

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism combination pattern of the Klotho gene with non-cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an elevated risk of all-cause mortality, with cardiovascular death being extensively investigated. However, non-cardiovascular mortality represents the biggest percentage, showing an evident increase in recent years. Klotho is a gene highly expressed in the kidney, with a clear influence on lifespan. Low levels of Klotho have been linked to CKD progression and adverse outcomes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Klotho gene have been associated with several diseases, but studies investigating the association of Klotho SNPs with noncardiovascular death in CKD populations are lacking. The main aim of this study was to assess whether 11 Klotho SNPs were associated with non-cardiovascular death in a subpopulation of the National Observatory of Atherosclerosis in Nephrology (NEFRONA) study (n ¼ 2185 CKD patients). After 48 months of follow-up, 62 cardiovascular deaths and 108 non-cardiovascular deaths were recorded. We identified a high non-cardiovascular death risk combination of SNPs corresponding to individuals carrying the most frequent allele (G) at rs562020, the rare allele (C) at rs2283368 and homozygotes for the rare allele (G) at rs2320762 (rs562020 GG/AG þ rs2283368 CC/CT þ rs2320762 GG). Among the patients with the three SNPs genotyped (n ¼ 1016), 75 (7.4%) showed this combination. Furthermore, 95 (9.3%) patients showed a low-risk combination carrying all the opposite genotypes (rs562020 AA þ rs2283368 TT þ rs2320762 GT/TT). All the other combinations [n ¼ 846 (83.3%)] were considered as normal risk. Using competing risk regression analysis, we confirmed that the proposed combinations are independently associated with a higher fhazard ratio [HR] 3.28 [confidence interval (CI) 1.51-7.12]g and lower [HR 6 × 10- (95% CI 3.3 × 10--1.1 × 10-)] risk of suffering a non-cardiovascular death in the CKD population of the NEFRONA cohort compared with patients with the normal-risk combination. Determination of three SNPs of the Klotho gene could help in the prediction of non-cardiovascular death in CKD