Cirugía de la fibrilación auricular

Atrial fibrillation surgery is based on creating scars in the atrium, in order to avoid re-entry phenomena that may initiate and perpetuate arrhythmia, and driving the normal stimuli from the sinus node to the atrio-ventricular node. The complexity and increased risk of the initial surgical technique, based on a "cut-and-sew" procedure, have enhanced other current procedures, in which different energies are used making it possible to perform scars in a safer and less invasive way. At present, atrial fibrillation surgery is not performed routinely in all cardiothoracic surgical centers, and there is no consensus in which is the best type of technique. Even if the results are good, they depend on multiples factors such as duration of arrhythmia, atrial size and type of technique employed. In addition, there is some variability in the description within the scientific community of the results and procedures used, which makes its analysis confusing. In this paper we review the different techniques described, the results and their application in minimally invasive surgery

Supplementation of lamb diets with vitamin E and rosemary extracts on meat quality parameters

BACKGROUND Supranutritional supplementation of lamb diets with alpha-tocopherol is an effective method to reduce lipid oxidation and colour deterioration in meat products. However, alternative antioxidant sources have been proposed to replace the supranutritional vitamin E applications. RESULTS Indoor concentrate-fed Rasa Aragonesa male lambs (n = 480) were supplemented with increasing levels of all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 g kg(-1) compound feed), rosemary extract (0.20, 0.40, or 0.80 g kg(-1) compound feed), or rosemary extract embedded in a fat matrix (0.20, 0.40, or 0.80 g kg(-1) compound feed) for 14 days before slaughter. The longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle from three lambs per pen (18 lambs per treatment) were modified-atmosphere packaged (70% O-2 + 30% CO2) and maintained under retail conditions for 14 days. Supranutritional supplementation with antioxidants had no effect (P > 0.05) on average daily weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency. Rosemary extract supplementation (with or without fat embedment) had no effect on lipid oxidation, myoglobin forms, or colour stability parameters, regardless of the dose. All vitamin E supplementation levels significantly affected lipid oxidation, colour stability (L*, C*, and h), myoglobin forms, and meat discoloration parameters compared with non-supplemented lambs. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that, unlike vitamin E, neither dose nor protection of the rosemary extract had an effect on lipid oxidation or meat colour stability of lambs during the 14 days of storage under retail conditions

Metagenomic islands of hyperhalophiles: the case of Salinibacter ruber

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Saturated brines are extreme environments of low diversity. <it>Salinibacter ruber </it>is the only bacterium that inhabits this environment in significant numbers. In order to establish the extent of genetic diversity in natural populations of this microbe, the genomic sequence of reference strain DSM 13855 was compared to metagenomic fragments recovered from climax saltern crystallizers and obtained with 454 sequencing technology. This kind of analysis reveals the presence of metagenomic islands, i.e. highly variable regions among the different lineages in the population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three regions of the sequenced isolate were scarcely represented in the metagenome thus appearing to vary among co-occurring <it>S. ruber </it>cells. These metagenomic islands showed evidence of extensive genomic corruption with atypically low GC content, low coding density, high numbers of pseudogenes and short hypothetical proteins. A detailed analysis of island gene content showed that the genes in metagenomic island 1 code for cell surface polysaccharides. The strain-specific genes of metagenomic island 2 were found to be involved in biosynthesis of cell wall polysaccharide components. Finally, metagenomic island 3 was rich in DNA related enzymes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The genomic organisation of <it>S. ruber </it>variable genomic regions showed a number of convergences with genomic islands of marine microbes studied, being largely involved in variable cell surface traits. This variation at the level of cell envelopes in an environment devoid of grazing pressure probably reflects a global strategy of bacteria to escape phage predation.</p

Comparative effectiveness of contact tracing interventions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

Contact tracing is a non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) widely used in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its effectiveness may depend on a number of factors including the proportion of contacts traced, delays in tracing, the mode of contact tracing (e.g. forward, backward or bidirectional contact training), the types of contacts who are traced (e.g. contacts of index cases or contacts of contacts of index cases), or the setting where contacts are traced (e.g. the household or the workplace). We performed a systematic review of the evidence regarding the comparative effectiveness of contact tracing interventions. 78 studies were included in the review, 12 observational (ten ecological studies, one retrospective cohort study and one pre-post study with two patient cohorts) and 66 mathematical modelling studies. Based on the results from six of the 12 observational studies, contact tracing can be effective at controlling COVID-19. Two high quality ecological studies showed the incremental effectiveness of adding digital contact tracing to manual contact tracing. One ecological study of intermediate quality showed that increases in contact tracing were associated with a drop in COVID-19 mortality, and a pre-post study of acceptable quality showed that prompt contact tracing of contacts of COVID-19 case clusters / symptomatic individuals led to a reduction in the reproduction number R. Within the seven observational studies exploring the effectiveness of contact tracing in the context of the implementation of other non-pharmaceutical interventions, contact tracing was found to have an effect on COVID-19 epidemic control in two studies and not in the remaining five studies. However, a limitation in many of these studies is the lack of description of the extent of implementation of contact tracing interventions. Based on the results from the mathematical modelling studies, we identified the following highly effective policies: (1) manual contact tracing with high tracing coverage and either medium-term immunity, highly efficacious isolation/quarantine and/ or physical distancing (2) hybrid manual and digital contact tracing with high app adoption with highly effective isolation/ quarantine and social distancing, (3) secondary contact tracing, (4) eliminating contact tracing delays, (5) bidirectional contact tracing, (6) contact tracing with high coverage in reopening educational institutions. We also highlighted the role of social distancing to enhance the effectiveness of some of these interventions in the context of 2020 lockdown reopening. While limited, the evidence from observational studies shows a role for manual and digital contact tracing in controlling the COVID-19 epidemic. More empirical studies accounting for the extent of contact tracing implementation are required.Peer Reviewe

Selective extraction of proteins and other macromolecules from biological samples using molecular imprinted polymers

The accurate determination of intact macromolecules in biological samples, such as blood, plasma, serum, urine, tissue and feces is a challenging problem. The increased interest in macromolecules both as candidate drugs and as biomarkers for diagnostic purposes means that new method development approaches are needed. This review charts developments in the use of molecularly imprinted polymers first for small-molecular-mass compounds then for proteins and other macromolecules. Examples of the development of molecularly imprinted polymers for macromolecules are highlighted. The two main application areas to date are sensors and separation science, particularly SPE. Examples include peptides and polypeptides, lysozyme, hemoglobin, ovalbumin, bovine serum albumin and viruses

Aplicación de la inteligencia emocional mediante recursos digitales en el aula de educación primaria y secundaria: percepción docente

En los últimos años la literatura científica ha prestado especial atención a la inteligencia emocional (IE) del docente, resaltando su importancia en el proceso de enseñanzaaprendizaje. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar el interés de los docentes de Educación Primaria y Secundaria por incorporar herramientas digitales para la implementación de la IE, así como conocer los recursos TIC (tecnologías de la información y la comunicación) de los que disponen. Se recogieron datos de 247 profesores (54 % mujeres) de 31 centros educativos de Educación Primaria y Secundaria mediante un cuestionario online de 14 ítems desarrollado ad hoc. La información obtenida muestra la existencia de un alto interés por los recursos digitales para trabajar la IE (i.e. el 94 % de los participantes declara necesario emplear estas herramientas). No obstante, los docentes ponen de manifiesto una importante falta de formación en cuanto a recursos y herramientas digitales para incorporar la IE en el aula (i.e. el 45 % declara no poner en práctica la IE por falta de conocimientos y recursos tecnológicos). En conclusión, parece necesario dotar a los docentes de los recursos digitales apropiados para incluir la IE en el currículo escolar y satisfacer así las necesidades que plantean estos tiempos de cambio

¿Cuál es la percepción del alumnado universitario sobre la influencia de las metodologías activas en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje?

La utilización de metodologías activas que centran la enseñanza en el alumnado es respaldada actualmente por fomentar un proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje constructivo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la percepción del estudiantado de educación superior sobre la influencia de las metodologías participativas y las metodologías tradicionales en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. La experiencia se realizó en alumnado del Grado en Maestra/o de Educación Primaria. Se implementó una metodología activa durante dos meses y una metodología tradicional durante los siguientes dos meses. Tras la intervención, el alumnado completó un cuestionario de valoración. Los resultados mostraron que un 81 % número de alumnado percibe que la metodología activa ayudó a mantener el interés y la motivación por la materia, así como el 78 % consideró que aumentó la participación y el 89 % que fomentó la colaboración en el aula de teoría en comparación con la metodología tradicional. Aunque al 79 % del alumnado le gustaría seguir utilizando las metodologías activas, el 75 % consideró que la combinación de ambas metodologías resulta de utilidad. En conclusión, las metodologías activas generan una mayor percepción positiva sobre el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en educación superior. Sin embargo, las metodologías tradicionales no deben descartarse