Maternal psychological and biological factors associated to gestational complications

Early detection of gestational complications is a priority in obstetrics. In our social context, this is linked to maternity age. Most studies are focused on biological factors. However, pregnancy is also influenced by social and psychological factors, which have not been deeply explored. We aimed to identify biopsychosocial risk and protective factors associated with the development of maternal and fetal complications. We enrolled 182 healthy pregnant women, and plasma melatonin and cortisol levels were measured in the first trimester by chemiluminescent immunoassays. At different time points along gestation, women answered several questionnaires (positive and negative affect schedule, hospital anxiety and depression scale, pregnancy concerns scale, life orientation test, resilience scale, life satisfaction scale and life–work conflicts scale). They were followed up until delivery and categorized as normal pregnancy, maternal or fetal complications. Maternal complications were associated with low melatonin (OR = 0.99 [0.98; 1.00]; p-value = 0.08) and life satisfaction (OR = 0.64 [0.41; 0.93]; p-value = 0.03) and fetal complications were associated with high cortisol (OR = 1.06 [1.02; 1.13]; p-value = 0.04), anxiety (OR = 2.21 [1.10; 4.55]; p-value = 0.03) and life–work conflicts (OR = 1.92 [1.04; 3.75]; p-value = 0.05). We conclude that psychological factors influence pregnancy outcomes in association with melatonin and cortisol alterations. High maternal melatonin and life satisfaction levels could be potential protective factors against the development of maternal complications during pregnancy. Low anxiety and cortisol levels and reduced work–life conflicts could prevent fetal complication

The Influence of Emissions from Maritime Transport on Air Quality in the Strait of Gibraltar (Spain)

Gaseous and particulate emissions from oceangoing ships have a significant effect on the quality of air in cities. This study estimates mainly the influence of NOx, SOx, and particulate matter (PM2.5) on air quality in the Strait of Gibraltar (Spain) using the authors' own Ship's Energy and Emissions Model (SENEM) and the California Puff air quality model (CALPUFF) in 2017. The Algeciras Bay Industrial Zone recorded the highest levels of pollutants, and the Palmones area was identified as a major hotspot, with mean daily ship-sourced SOx concentrations >215 mu g/m(3), while the highest concentrations of PM10 reached 8.5 mu g/m(3) inside the Strait, and the mean yearly contribution of PM2.5 reached 0.86 mu g/m(3) in the city of Algeciras. The incidence of maritime traffic emissions on the levels of particle emissions, CO, HC, NMVOC, and CO2 reached values of up to 20-25% in all the receivers defined in the study

Calculating a Drop in Carbon Emissions in the Strait of Gibraltar (Spain) from Domestic Shipping Traffic Caused by the COVID-19 Crisis

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish government declared a State of Emergency, and domestic passenger ship traffic was restricted in Spanish ports. This manuscript presents scenarios of emissions from domestic shipping traffic in the seas of the Strait of Gibraltar (Spain) over three months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emissions were estimated for only 90 days of the pandemic, and two scenarios were studied: emissions while vessels were berthed at the Algeciras Port and emissions as a consequence of the interruption of passenger ship transportation in the Strait of Gibraltar. To this end, the authors' own model was used, which has near zero uncertainties. This model was used for the first time in this study and takes into account both meteorological and sea condition parameters, as well as the efficiency of the propulsion system. The manuscript concentrates on the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter (PM) from six Ro-Pax ships that ceased to operate. The main finding is that as a consequence of the pandemic, reductions of up to 12% were found in the Strait of Gibraltar in all the pollutants and GHGs when taking into account all international traffic, while the decrease in emissions from domestic traffic only reached 51%

Shipping emissions in the Iberian Peninsula and the impacts on air quality

Marine traffic has been identified as a relevant source of pollutants, which cause known negative effects on air quality. The Iberian Peninsula is a central point in the connection of shipping traffic between the Americas, Africa, and the rest of Europe. To estimate the effects of shipping emissions inland and around the Iberian Peninsula, the EMEP/MSC-W model was run considering and not considering shipping emissions (obtained with STEAM3). Total estimated emissions of CO, CO2, SOx, NOx, and particulate matter (subdivided into elementary carbon - EC, organic carbon - OC, sulfate, and ash) for the study domain in 2015 were respectively 49, 30000, 360, 710, 4.5, 11, 32, and 3.3 kt yr(-1). Shipping emissions increased SO2 and NO2 concentrations, especially near port areas, and also increased the O-3, sulfate, and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations over the entire Iberian Peninsula coastline (especially in the south coastal region). Shipping emissions were responsible for exceedances of WHO air quality guidelines for PM2.5 in areas far from the coastline, which confirms that shipping emissions can contribute negatively to air quality, both in coastal and inland areas

Estimating the health and economic burden of shipping related air pollution in the Iberian Peninsula

Air pollution is the leading cause of the global burden of disease from the environment, entailing substantial economic consequences. International shipping is a significant source of NOx, SO2, CO and PM, which can cause known negative health impacts. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the health impacts and the associated external costs of ship-related air pollution in the Iberian Peninsula for 2015. Moreover, the impact of CAP2020 regulations on 2015 emissions was studied. Log-linear functions based on WHO-HRAPIE relative risks for PM2.5 and NO2 all-cause mortality and morbidity health end-points, and integrated exposure-response functions for PM2.5 cause-specific mortality, were used to calculate the excess burden of disease. The number of deaths and years of life lost (YLL) due to NO2 ship-related emissions was similar to those of PM2.5 ship-related emissions. Estimated all-cause premature deaths attributable to PM2.5 ship-related emissions represented an average increase of 7.7% for the Iberian Peninsula when compared to the scenario without shipping contribution. Costs of around 9 100 million euro yr-1 (for value of statistical life approach - VSL) and 1 825 million euro yr(-1) (for value of life year approach - VOLY) were estimated for PM and NO2 all-cause burden of disease. For PM2.5 cause-specific mortality, a cost of around 3 475 million euro yr(-1) (for VSL approach) and 851 million euro yr(-1) (for VOLY approach) were estimated. Costs due to PM and NO2 all-cause burden represented around 0.72% and 0.15% of the Iberian Peninsula gross domestic product in 2015, respectively for VSL and VOLY approaches. For PM2.5 cause-specific mortality, costs represented around 0.28% and 0.06%, respectively, for VSL and VOLY approaches. If CAP2020 regulations had been applied in 2015, around 50% and 30% respectively of PM2.5 and NO2 ship-related mortality would been avoided. These results show that air pollution from ships has a considerable impact on health and associated costs affecting the Iberian Peninsula.This work was financially supported by: project UIDB/00511/2020 of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy - LEPABE-funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) and project EMISSHIP PTDC/CTAAMB/32201/2017, funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020 - Programa Oper-acional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES. Rafael A.O. Nunes thanks the individual research grant SFRH/BD/146159/2019, funded by the Por-tuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) . Sofia I.V. Sousathanks the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the financial support of her work contract through the Scientific Employment Stimulus-Individual Call CEECIND/02477/2017. Dr Jalkanen would like to acknowledge the financial support from the European Union's Horizon2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement #874990 (EMERGE project) . This work reflects only the authors' view and INEA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains

Repositorio Institucional Abierto para promover la difusión de la producción Científica y Académica de la Facultad de Tecnología y Ciencias Aplicadas - UNCA

Hace más de una década que universidades nacionales y del mundo debaten sobre los desafíos de las nuevas Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación para la producción, gestión y circulación del conocimiento científico y académico. Una forma de dar respuesta a este desafío es el Movimiento de Acceso Abierto. Este movimiento permite en forma gratuita y con propósitos legítimos ligados a la investigación, el desarrollo tecnológico, la innovación y la educación, entre otras, que se pueda leer, descargar, copiar, distribuir, imprimir, buscar o enlazar textos completos, sin otras barreras económicas, legales o técnicas que las que suponga Internet en sí misma y donde uno de los mecanismos de publicación son los repositorios digitales. En este trabajo se presenta la creación del Repositorio Institucional Abierto de la Facultad de Tecnología y Ciencias Aplicadas de la Universidad Nacional de Catamarca cuyo objetivo es promover la producción científica y académica de su comunidad. También se presenta, la implementación del módulo de estadísticas de uso al Repositorio Institucional, que facilita el análisis y comprensión de los recursos almacenados, mide su popularidad y utilidad, además ayuda a las autoridades a la toma de decisiones en aspectos políticos, tácticos y operativos

Lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2), a new regulator of cell polarity required for metastatic dissemination of basal-like breast carcinomas

Basal-like breast carcinoma is characterized by the expression of basal/ myoepithelial markers, undifferentiated phenotype, highly aggressive behaviour and frequent triple negative status (ESR , PR , Her2neu ). We have previously shown that epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs in basal-like breast tumours and identified Lysyl-oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) as an EMT player and poor prognosis marker in squamous cell carcinomas. We now show that LOXL2 mRNA is overexpressed in basal-like human breast carcinomas. Breast carcinoma cell lines with basal-like phenotype show a specific cytoplasmic/perinuclear LOXL2 expression, and this subcellular distribution is significantly associated with distant metastatic incidence in basal-like breast carcinomas. LOXL2 silencing in basal-like carcinoma cells induces a mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) associated with a decrease of tumourigenicity and suppression of metastatic potential. Mechanistic studies indicate that LOXL2 maintains the mesenchymal phenotype of basal-like carcinoma cells by a novel mechanism involving transcriptional downregulation of Lgl2 and claudin1 and disorganization of cell polarity and tight junction complexes. Therefore, intracellular LOXL2 is a new candidate marker of basal-like carcinomas and a target to block metastatic dissemination of this aggressive breast tumour subtypeThis work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, MICINN, (SAF2007-53061; SAF2010-21143; Consolider Ingenio CSD2007/00017, to AC; SAF2007-63075; SAF2010-20175 to GM-B); Fundacion Mutua Madrileña (2007, 2009 to AC and GM-B); Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (PI 080971 to JP), and Junta de Andalucıa (PI-0384/2007; PI 080971, P07-CVI- 03100 to JP). FS and A Martı´n are recipients of JAE-pre and JAE-postdoc contracts from the Spanish Research Council (CSIC), respectively; MAC is founded by the RETICS (ISCIII)

Withdrawal of infliximab therapy in ankylosing spondylitis in persistent clinical remission, results from the REMINEA study

Altres ajuts: This work is conducted under the umbrella of the Rheumatology Society of Catalonia and supported by Merck Research Laboratories.Background: Recent data suggest that anti-TNF doses can be reduced in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. Some authors even propose withdrawing treatment in patients in clinical remission; however, at present there is no evidence to support this. Objective: To assess how long AS patients with persistent clinical remission remained free of flares after anti-TNF withdrawal and to evaluate the effects of treatment reintroduction. We also analyze the characteristics of patients who did not present clinical relapse. Methods: Multicenter, prospective, observational study of a cohort of patients with active AS who had received infliximab as a first anti-TNF treatment and who presented persistent remission (more than 6 months). We recorded at baseline and every 6-8 weeks over the 12-month period the age, gender, disease duration, peripheral arthritis or enthesitis, HLA-B27 status, BASDAI, CRP, ESR, BASFI, and three visual analogue scales, spine global pain, spinal night time pain, and patient's global assessment. Results: Thirty-six out of 107 patients (34%) presented persistent remission and were included in our study. After treatment withdrawal, 21 of these 36 patients (58%) presented clinical relapse during follow-up. Infliximab therapy was reintroduced and only 52% achieved clinical remission, as they had before the discontinuation of infliximab; in an additional 10%, reintroduction of infliximab was ineffective, obliging us to change the anti-TNF therapy. No clinical or biological factors were associated with the occurrence of relapse during the follow-up. Conclusions: Two thirds of patients in clinical remission presented clinical relapse shortly after infliximab withdrawal. Although the reintroduction of infliximab treatment was safe, half of the patients did not present the same clinical response that they had achieved prior to treatment withdrawal

Safety and efficacy of ribociclib plus letrozole in patients with HR+, HER2– advanced breast cancer: Results from the Spanish sub-population of the phase 3b CompLEEment-1 trial

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Spanish women. Ribociclib in combination with endocrine therapy (ET) has shown superiority in prolonging survival in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC) vs. ET alone.Methods: CompLEEment-1 is a single-arm, open-label phase 3b trial evaluating ribociclib plus letrozole in a broad population of patients with HR+, HER2- ABC. The primary endpoints were safety and tolerability. Here we report data for Spanish patients enrolled in CompLEEment-1.Results: A total of 526 patients were evaluated (median follow-up: 26.97 months). Baseline characteristics showed a diverse population with a median age of 54 years. At study entry, 56.5% of patients had visceral metastases and 8.7% had received prior chemotherapy for advanced disease. Rates of all-grade and Grade >= 3 adverse events (AEs) were 99.0% and 76.2%, respectively; 21.3% of patients experienced a serious AE, and 15.8% of AEs led to treatment discontinuation. AEs of special interest of neutropenia, increased alanine aminotransferase, increased aspartate aminotransferase and QTcF prolongation occurred in 77.8%, 14.8%, 11.4% and 4.0% of patients, respectively. Patients aged >70 years experienced increased rates of all-grade and Grade >= 3 neutropenia and anemia. Efficacy results were consistent with the global study.Conclusions: Results from Spanish patients enrolled in CompLEEment-1 are consistent with global data showing efficacy and a manageable safety profile for ribociclib plus letrozole treatment in patients with HR+, HER2-ABC, including populations of interest (NCT02941926).Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0294192

Genetic landscape of 6089 inherited retinal dystrophies affected cases in Spain and their therapeutic and extended epidemiological implications

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), defined by dysfunction or progressive loss of photoreceptors, are disorders characterized by elevated heterogeneity, both at the clinical and genetic levels. Our main goal was to address the genetic landscape of IRD in the largest cohort of Spanish patients reported to date. A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 6089 IRD affected individuals (from 4403 unrelated families), referred for genetic testing from all the Spanish autonomous communities. Clinical, demographic and familiar data were collected from each patient, including family pedigree, age of appearance of visual symptoms, presence of any systemic findings and geographical origin. Genetic studies were performed to the 3951 families with available DNA using different molecular techniques. Overall, 53.2% (2100/3951) of the studied families were genetically characterized, and 1549 different likely causative variants in 142 genes were identified. The most common phenotype encountered is retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (55.6% of families, 2447/4403). The most recurrently mutated genes were PRPH2, ABCA4 and RS1 in autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR) and X-linked (XL) NON-RP cases, respectively; RHO, USH2A and RPGR in AD, AR and XL for non-syndromic RP; and USH2A and MYO7A in syndromic IRD. Pathogenic variants c.3386G > T (p.Arg1129Leu) in ABCA4 and c.2276G > T (p.Cys759Phe) in USH2A were the most frequent variants identified. Our study provides the general landscape for IRD in Spain, reporting the largest cohort ever presented. Our results have important implications for genetic diagnosis, counselling and new therapeutic strategies to both the Spanish population and other related populations.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS; PI16/00425 and PI19/00321), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER, 06/07/0036), IIS-FJD BioBank (PT13/0010/0012), Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, RAREGenomics Project, B2017/BMD-3721), European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE), Fundación Ramón Areces, Fundación Conchita Rábago and the University Chair UAM-IIS-FJD of Genomic Medicine. Irene Perea-Romero is supported by a PhD fellowship from the predoctoral Program from ISCIII (FI17/00192). Ionut F. Iancu is supported by a grant from the Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, PEJ-2017-AI/BMD7256). Marta del Pozo-Valero is supported by a PhD grant from the Fundación Conchita Rábago. Berta Almoguera is supported by a Juan Rodes program from ISCIII (JR17/00020). Pablo Minguez is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CP16/00116). Marta Corton is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CPII17/00006). The funders played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation and/or publication decisions