Spinal Anesthesia in Pediatrics

The survival of preterm newborn patients (PNB) depends in a great extent on the anesthetic technique used. Spinal anesthesia (SA) is considered the best-tolerated regional anesthetic method for highly unstable newborn infants (NB) with high risk of complications during the perioperative period. SA has been recommended for children at high risk for postoperative apnea due to general anesthetics or prematurity. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in the newborn is a disease that accompanies the patient to the operating room with a high incidence of mortality. SA in emergency surgery is a well-tolerated anesthetic procedure with proven effectiveness, with less hemodynamic and respiratory repercussions. At the same time, it produces greater protection against surgical stress in the NB weakened by the premature condition. Hemodynamic stability remains constant even in the newborn with heart disease

C. elegans TFIIH subunit GTF-2H5/TTDA is a non-essential transcription factor indispensable for DNA repair

The 10-subunit TFIIH complex is vital to transcription and nucleotide excision repair. Hereditary mutations in its smallest subunit, TTDA/GTF2H5, cause a photosensitive form of the rare developmental disorder trichothiodystrophy. Some trichothiodystrophy features are thought to be caused by subtle transcription or gene expression defects. TTDA/GTF2H5 knockout mice are not viable, making it difficult to investigate TTDA/GTF2H5 in vivo function. Here we show that deficiency of C. elegans TTDA ortholog GTF-2H5 is, however, compatible with life, in contrast to depletion of other TFIIH subunits. GTF-2H5 promotes TFIIH stability in multiple tissues and is indispensable for nucleotide excision repair, in which it facilitates recruitment of TFIIH to DNA damage. Strikingly, when transcription is challenged, gtf-2H5 embryos die due to the intrinsic TFIIH fragility in absence of GTF-2H5. These results support the idea that TTDA/GTF2H5 mutations cause transcription impairment underlying trichothiodystrophy and establish C. elegans as model for studying pathogenesis of this disease.</p

Clonación y expresión de un fragmento recombinante del gen cagA de Helicobacter pylori y su evaluación preliminar en el serodiagnóstico

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori strains expressing cytotoxic CagA protein are more commonly associated with peptic ulceration, atrophic gastritis and gastric adenocarcinoma than those lacking CagA. Determination of anti-CagA antibodies, therefore, acquires a relevant clinical significance in the serological detection of H. pylori infection and disease risk prediction. However, the CagA-serology has been questioned due to the differences found in their performance evaluations in different populations.Objective: To obtain a recombinant CagA fragment useful for serodiagnosis of H. pylori infection.Materials and methods: A fragment of the cagA gene was cloned into aprokaryotic T7 RNA polymerase expression vector. A recombinant C-terminal His6-tagged CagA was expressed, subsequently solubilized with urea and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The performance of the recombinant protein was evaluated using 180 human serum samples with an in-house Western blot assay compared to the Helicoblot 2.1 reference test.Results: The expressed His6-tagged CagA showed an immunoreactive 80kDa band as was revealed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis using two different specific anti-CagA polyclonal antibodies.The recombinant protein was successfully purified obtaining a 93% of purity. The performance analysis of the purified recombinant antigen showed good immunoreactivity and exhibited values of sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of 88.1%, 100% and 92.7%, respectively.Conclusion: The CagA fragment of the study may constitute a useful tool for serological diagnosis of CagA-positive H. pylori infection. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v33i4.1678Introducción. Las cepas de Helicobacter pylori que expresan la citotoxina CagA, se asocian más frecuentemente con úlcera péptica, gastritis atrófica y adenocarcinoma gástrico que las que carecen de esta citotoxina. Por lo anterior, el determinar la presencia de anticuerpos anti-CagA adquiere gran importancia clínica en la detección serológica de la infección por H. pylori y la predicción del riesgo de enfermedades. Sin embargo, los métodos serológicos que emplean CagA han sido cuestionados debido a las diferencias encontradas en las evaluaciones de su desempeño en diversas poblaciones.Objetivo. Obtener un fragmento recombinante de la proteína CagA para el serodiagnóstico de la infección por H. pylori.Materiales y métodos. Un fragmento del gen cagA fue clonado en un vector de expresión procariota que contenía el promotor de la T7 ARN polimerasa. El fragmento de la proteína CagA con seis histidinas en la región C-terminal, se expresó, se solubilizó con urea y se purificó por cromatografía de afinidad con iones metálicos inmovilizados. El desempeño de la proteína recombinante se evaluó empleandoun método in house de Western Blot y 180 sueros humanos. Los resultados se compararon con la prueba de referencia Helicoblot 2.1. Resultados. La proteína CagA expresada mostró una banda inmunorreactiva de 80 kDa en el Western Blot al emplear dos anticuerpos policlonales anti-CagA específicos. La proteína recombinante fue purificada hasta un 93 % de pureza y el análisis de desempeño del antígeno recombinante purificado mostró buena inmunorreacción y exhibió valores de sensibilidad, especificidad y exactitud de 88,1 %,100 % y 92,7 %, respectivamente.Conclusiones. El fragmento de la proteína CagA del estudio puede constituir una herramienta útil para el diagnóstico serológico de la infección por cepas de H. pylori positivas para CagA.doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v33i4.167

REGULATION OF BETA-ADRENOCEPTORS ACTIVITYUSING SYNTHETIC LIGHT-REGULATED MOLECULES

Beta-adrenoceptors (ß-AR) are prototypical G proteincoupled receptors and important pharmacological targets for many diseases. Indeed, a number of approved drugs target these receptors due to their key role on many physiological functions. Among other examples, we encounter ß1-AR antagonists (ß- Blockers), which constitute the first-line therapy for the treatment of heart diseases, and ß2-AR agonists, which act as bronchodilators for the treatment of breathing pathologies. Considering the relevance of these receptors, achieving a reversible and localised control of their activity would provide a powerful tool, both for its research applications and its clinical potential. In this context, photopharmacology arises as a potent approach. Photopharmacology is an emerging field based on the use of synthetic light-regulated molecules to allow reversible spatiotemporal control of target receptors in native tissues. These ligands have the potential to provide a precise and controllable therapeutic action with increased efficacy and reduced side effects. Moreover, the fine regulation on demand of the receptor activation state is of great interest for their study in non-modified cells, tissues and organisms. The present project provides the first proof of concept for beta-adrenoceptor photopharmacology. We first designed and synthesised libraries of lightregulated compounds in order to regulate ß-AR activity with spatiotemporal precision. Subsequent testing highlighted the successful development of compounds with promising pharmacological properties which can be reversibly and irreversibly controlled by light. The discovered molecules enable a fine control of ß-AR in their native environment that will certainly open the door to innovative research procedures and may inspire future personalized therapies targeting these receptors

ISAE: An Indicator to Monitor Colombian Economic Activity in High Frequency

El desarrollo de metodologías que permitan el diagnóstico del estado y la tendencia de la actividad económica es de especial importancia para la toma de decisiones de política económica. En este documento se propone un indicador semanal de actividad económica para Colombia, para el período comprendido entre febrero de 2000 y mayo de 2022. El indicador es obtenido como resultado de un modelo de factores dinámicos con un esquema de frecuencias mixtas, que emplea 32 variables semanales (10), mensuales (19) y trimestrales (3). Los resultados muestran que el indicador captura de forma adecuada los ciclos sobresalientes en el período de análisis, dentro de los cuales se destaca la reciente crisis originada por la pandemia del Covid-19. Además, sugieren que, como se espera, la capacidad del indicador para estimar el desempeño de la actividad económica en el trimestre mejora a medida que se cuenta con más información disponible, considerando los rezagos de publicación de la misma.The development of methodologies that enable the diagnosis of the current state and trend of economic activity is particularly important to improve the decision-making process in economic policy. This paper proposes a new weekly indicator of economic activity for Colombia, covering the period between February 2000 and May 2022. This indicator is the result of a mixed-frequency dynamic factor model that uses 32 weekly (10), monthly (19) and quarterly (3) variables. Our results suggest that the indicator adequately captures the main economic cycles in the period of analysis, prominent among which is the recent crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. We also find that, given the lags in publication of data, the ability of the indicator to diagnose the state of economic activity improves as more information is available.Enfoque El desarrollo de metodologías que permitan el diagnóstico del estado y la tendencia de la actividad económica es de especial importancia para la toma de decisiones de política económica. En la práctica, este diagnóstico utiliza indicadores de baja frecuencia que son publicados con varios meses de rezago. En este documento se propone un indicador semanal de actividad económica para Colombia (en adelante, ISAE), obtenido como resultado de un modelo de factores dinámicos con un esquema de frecuencias mixtas. Este indicador permite diagnosticar de manera oportuna y con alta precisión el comportamiento de la actividad real, así como predecir su dinámica en el corto plazo. Contribución El ISAE es el primer indicador en hacer un diagnóstico de la actividad real semanal para la economía colombiana. Además, se considera que el indicador permite realizar un análisis preciso, al sintetizar la información y co-movimiento de 32 variables altamente relacionadas con la actividad económica con frecuencias mixtas: 10 semanales, 19 mensuales y 3 trimestrales. Por ello, finalmente, contribuye a los esfuerzos realizados previamente en la literatura por contar con herramientas que mejoren el pronóstico de la actividad económica colombiana en el corto plazo. Resultados Dentro de los principales resultados se destaca la capacidad de diagnóstico del ISAE, al capturar adecuadamente los diferentes puntos de inflexión que experimentó la economía colombiana entre febrero de 2000 y mayo de 2022, siendo los más importantes la crisis financiera de 2008-2009, la caída de los precios del petróleo en 2014-2015 y la crisis originada por la pandemia de Covid-19, así como las posteriores recuperaciones. Al analizar el desempeño de pronóstico del ISAE, se encuentra que su error de pronóstico un trimestre adelante -con respecto a la variación anual del PIB- es considerablemente inferior para el período previo al primer trimestre de 2020. Aunque este error de pronóstico aumentó para el periodo posterior, es de resaltar que, para las primeras semanas de abril de 2020, el ISAE ya sugería una contracción importante de la actividad económica, aun cuando no se disponía de indicadores tradicionales para el segundo trimestre de 2020

Fetal Liver Volume Assessment Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Fetuses With Cytomegalovirus Infection

Objective: To assess fetal liver volume (FLV) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in cytomegalovirus (CMV)-infected fetuses compared to a group of healthy fetuses. Method: Most infected cases were diagnosed by the evidence of ultrasound abnormalities during routine scans and in some after maternal CMV screening. CMV-infected fetuses were considered severely or mildly affected according to prenatal brain lesions identified by ultrasound (US)/MRI. We assessed FLV, the FLV to abdominal circumference (AC) ratio (FLV/AC-ratio), and the FLV to fetal body volume (FBV) ratio (FLV/FBV-ratio). As controls, we included 33 healthy fetuses. Hepatomegaly was evaluated post-mortem in 11 cases of congenital CMV infection. Parametric trend and intraclass correlation analyses were performed. Results: There were no significant differences in FLV between infected (n = 32) and healthy fetuses. On correcting the FLV for AC and FBV, we observed a significantly higher FLV in CMV-infected fetuses. There were no significant differences in the FLV, or the FLV/AC or FLV/FBV-ratios according to the severity of brain abnormalities. There was excellent concordance between the fetal liver weight estimated by MRI and liver weight obtained post-mortem. Hepatomegaly was not detected in any CMV-infected fetus. Conclusion: In CMV-infected fetuses, FLV corrected for AC and FBV was higher compared to healthy controls, indicating relative hepatomegaly. These parameters could potentially be used as surrogate markers of liver enlargement. Keywords: fetal brain abnormalities; fetal cytomegalovirus infection; fetal liver; magnetic resonance imaging; pregnancy

Overweight in schoolchildren and nutrient intake

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one of the most serious health problems of the 21st century is childhood obesity. In 2016, more than 400 million children and adolescents between the age of 5 and 19 were overweight or obese. The aim of this study is to evaluate the consumption, habits and dietary practices of schoolchildren who suffer from malnutrition due to overweight or obesity. Methods: descriptive, correlational and prospective study using a quantitative approach. The sample size was 82 girls and boys who met the inclusion criteria between 8 and 14 years of a public institution of basic education in Barranquilla. Results: schoolchildren of both sexes had a high prevalence of obesity, particularly in the female group (76.44%). A dietary interview using the frequency of food consumption method showed a moderate consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as a high consumption of sugary drinks, fried foods, cookies and sweets, and a low intake of water. Regarding eating habits and practices, it was reported that a high percentage of schoolchildren receive diets and purchase cookies, ice cream, sugary drink or juices and salty snacks. Discussion: a a study revealed in 56 schoolchildren evaluated the prevalence of overweight of Spanish schoolchildren according to sex, thus showing a higher prevalence of overweight in girls (21.9%) than in boys, (10.1%) while the prevalence go obesity was higher in boys (24.5%) than in girls (9.7%). A systematic analysis reported in a population of children and adults from 1980 to 2013, finding a prevalence of overweight and obesity in boys (26.3% and 9.4%, respectively) and girls (27.3% and 8.3%). Our study presents excessive figures related to obesity mainly in schoolgirls (76.44%). Conclusion: Our data show a relationship between the prevalence of overweight and obesity and poor consumption and eating habits and practices

Galaxy Zoo and ALFALFA: Atomic Gas and the Regulation of Star Formation in Barred Disc Galaxies

We study the observed correlation between atomic gas content and the likelihood of hosting a large scale bar in a sample of 2090 disc galaxies. Such a test has never been done before on this scale. We use data on morphologies from the Galaxy Zoo project and information on the galaxies' HI content from the ALFALFA blind HI survey. Our main result is that the bar fraction is significantly lower among gas rich disc galaxies than gas poor ones. This is not explained by known trends for more massive (stellar) and redder disc galaxies to host more bars and have lower gas fractions: we still see at fixed stellar mass a residual correlation between gas content and bar fraction. We discuss three possible causal explanations: (1) bars in disc galaxies cause atomic gas to be used up more quickly, (2) increasing the atomic gas content in a disc galaxy inhibits bar formation, and (3) bar fraction and gas content are both driven by correlation with environmental effects (e.g. tidal triggering of bars, combined with strangulation removing gas). All three explanations are consistent with the observed correlations. In addition our observations suggest bars may reduce or halt star formation in the outer parts of discs by holding back the infall of external gas beyond bar co-rotation, reddening the global colours of barred disc galaxies. This suggests that secular evolution driven by the exchange of angular momentum between stars in the bar, and gas in the disc, acts as a feedback mechanism to regulate star formation in intermediate mass disc galaxies.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures. In press at MNRAS. v2 contains corrections found in proof