Influence of body mass and skinfolds on skin temperature through infrared thermography

Thermal response of skin temperature (Tsk) has been studied during exercise and immediately after (Merla, 2010). However, more studies about the influence of exercise on Tsk through the time are required to understand the impact of physical activity on thermoregulatory system and metabolis

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Cell Fusion Reprogramming Leads to a Specific Hepatic Expression Pattern during Mouse Bone Marrow Derived Hepatocyte Formation In Vivo

The fusion of bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic cells with hepatocytes to generate BM derived hepatocytes (BMDH) is a natural process, which is enhanced in damaged tissues. However, the reprogramming needed to generate BMDH and the identity of the resultant cells is essentially unknown. In a mouse model of chronic liver damage, here we identify a modification in the chromatin structure of the hematopoietic nucleus during BMDH formation, accompanied by the loss of the key hematopoietic transcription factor PU.1/Sfpi1 (SFFV proviral integration 1) and gain of the key hepatic transcriptional regulator HNF-1A homeobox A (HNF-1A/Hnf1a). Through genome-wide expression analysis of laser captured BMDH, a differential gene expression pattern was detected and the chromatin changes observed were confirmed at the level of chromatin regulator genes. Similarly, Tranforming Growth Factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and neurotransmitter (e.g. Prostaglandin E Receptor 4 [Ptger4]) pathway genes were over-expressed. In summary, in vivo BMDH generation is a process in which the hematopoietic cell nucleus changes its identity and acquires hepatic features. These BMDHs have their own cell identity characterized by an expression pattern different from hematopoietic cells or hepatocytes. The role of these BMDHs in the liver requires further investigation

A Computer Application to Predict Adverse Events in the Short-Term Evolution of Patients With Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic disease. Exacerbations of COPD (eCOPD) contribute to the worsening of the disease and the patient’s evolution. There are some clinical prediction rules that may help to stratify patients with eCOPD by their risk of poor evolution or adverse events. The translation of these clinical prediction rules into computer applications would allow their implementation in clinical practice. Objective: The goal of this study was to create a computer application to predict various outcomes related to adverse events of short-term evolution in eCOPD patients attending an emergency department (ED) based on valid and reliable clinical prediction rules. Methods: A computer application, Prediction of Evolution of patients with eCOPD (PrEveCOPD), was created to predict 2 outcomes related to adverse events: (1) mortality during hospital admission or within a week after an ED visit and (2) admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) or an intermediate respiratory care unit (IRCU) during the eCOPD episode. The algorithms included in the computer tool were based on clinical prediction rules previously developed and validated within the Investigación en Resultados y Servicios de Salud COPD study. The app was developed for Windows and Android systems, using Visual Studio 2008 and Eclipse, respectively. Results: The PrEveCOPD computer application implements the prediction models previously developed and validated for 2 relevant adverse events in the short-term evolution of patients with eCOPD. The application runs under Windows and Android systems and it can be used locally or remotely as a Web application. Full description of the clinical prediction rules as well as the original references is included on the screen. Input of the predictive variables is controlled for out-of-range and missing values. Language can be switched between English and Spanish. The application is available for downloading and installing on a computer, as a mobile app, or to be used remotely via internet. Conclusions: The PrEveCOPD app shows how clinical prediction rules can be summarized into simple and easy to use tools, which allow for the estimation of the risk of short-term mortality and ICU or IRCU admission for patients with eCOPD. The app can be used on any computer device, including mobile phones or tablets, and it can guide the clinicians to a valid stratification of patients attending the ED with eCOPD.Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI 06\1010, PI06\1017, PI06\714, PI06\0326, PI06\0664) Departamento de Salud del Gobierno Vasco (2012111008) Departamento de Educación, Política Lingüística y Cultura del Gobierno Vasco (IT620-13) Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Gobierno Español and FEDER (MTM2013-40941-P and MTM2016-74931-P) the Research Committee of the Hospital Galdakao the thematic networks -REDISSEC (Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas) - of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III

Reliability and reproductibility of skin temperature of overweight subjects by an infrared thermograpy software designed for human beings

The technical improvement and new applications of Infrared Thermography (IRT) with healthy subjects should be accompanied by results about the reproducibility of IRT measurements in different popula-tion groups. In addition, there is a remarkable necessity of a larger supply on software to analyze IRT images of human beings. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: firstly, to investigate the reproducibility of skin temperature (Tsk) on overweight and obese subjects using IRT in different Regions of Interest (ROI), moments and side-to-side differences (?T); and secondly, to check the reliability of a new software called Termotracker®, specialized on the analysis of IRT images of human beings. Methods: 22 overweight and obese males (11) and females (11) (age: 41,51±7,76 years; height: 1,65±0,09 m; weight: 82,41±11,81 Kg; BMI: 30,17±2,58 kg/m²) were assessed in two consecutive thermograms (5 seconds in-between) by the same observer, using an infrared camera (FLIR T335, Sweden) to get 4 IRT images from the whole body. 11 ROI were selected using Termotracker® to analyze its reproducibility and reliability through Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Coefficient of Variation (CV) values. Results: The reproducibility of the side-to-side differences (?T) between two consecutive thermograms was very high in all ROIs (Mean ICC = 0,989), and excellent between two computers (Mean ICC = 0,998). The re-liability of the software was very high in all the ROIs (Mean ICC = 0,999). Intraexaminer reliability analysing the same subjects in two consecutive thermograms was also very high (Mean ICC = 0,997). CV values of the different ROIs were around 2%. Conclusions: Skin temperature on overweight subjects had an excellent reproducibility for consecutive ther-mograms. The reproducibility of thermal asymmetries (?T) was also good but it had the influence of several factors that should be further investigated. Termotracker® reached excellent reliability results and it is a relia-ble and objective software to analyse IRT images of humans beings

Dynamic regulation of serum aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists in MS

Objective: Several factors influence the clinical course of autoimmune inflammatory diseases such as MS and inflammatory bowel disease. Only recently, the complex interaction between the gut microbiome, dietary factors, and metabolism has started to be appreciated with regard to its potential to modulate acute and chronic inflammation. One of the molecular sensors that mediates the effects of these environmental signals on the immune response is the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated transcription factor with key functions in immune cells. Methods: In this study, we analyzed the levels of AHR agonists in serum samples from patients with MS and healthy controls in a case-control study. Results: We detected a global decrease of circulating AHR agonists in relapsing-remitting MS patients as compared to controls. However, during acute CNS inflammation in clinically isolated syndrome or active MS, we measured increased AHR agonistic activity. Moreover, AHR ligand levels in patients with benign MS with relatively mild clinical impairment despite longstanding disease were unaltered as compared to healthy controls. Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggest that AHR agonists in serum are dynamically modulated during the course of MS. These findings may guide the development of biomarkers to monitor disease activity as well as the design of novel therapeutic interventions for MSInstituto de Salud Carlos III, Unión Europea PT13/0010/004

Stabilisation of the superoxide anion in bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI) ionic liquid by small chain length phosphonium cations: Voltammetric, DFT modelling and spectroscopic perspectives

Ionic liquids (ILs) containing the bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide anion, FSI, have been investigated as electrolytes for metal-air batteries. Full chemical reversibility is found for the reduction of oxygen to superoxide at 60 degrees C under short time scale conditions of cyclic voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode when the IL contains the small chain length triisobutyl(methyl)phosphonium rather than a pyrrolidinium cation. DFT calculations suggest that this is a consequence of the higher ion pair association energy and shorter intermolecular distance associated with the interaction of the superoxide anion with the phosphonium cation. Stabilization on longer timescales was also established by spectroscopic techniques when the phosphonium based ILs were exposed to KO2. Studies on superoxide stability in related ionic liquids containing the triisobutyl(methyl)phosphonium cation with the fluorosulfonyl(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, FTFSI, or bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, TFSI, anions are also reported.

A decision tree to assess short-term mortality after an emergency department visit for an exacerbation of COPD: A cohort study

Background: Creating an easy-to-use instrument to identify predictors of short-term (30/60-day) mortality after an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (eCOPD) could help clinicians choose specific measures of medical care to decrease mortality in these patients. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a classification and regression tree (CART) to predict short term mortality among patients evaluated in an emergency department (ED) for an eCOPD. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study including participants from 16 hospitals in Spain. COPD patients with an exacerbation attending the emergency department (ED) of any of the hospitals between June 2008 and September 2010 were recruited. Patients were randomly divided into derivation (50 %) and validation samples (50 %). A CART based on a recursive partitioning algorithm was created in the derivation sample and applied to the validation sample. Results: Two thousand four hundred eighty-seven patients, 1252 patients in the derivation sample and 1235 in the validation sample, were enrolled in the study. Based on the results of the univariate analysis, five variables (baseline dyspnea, cardiac disease, the presence of paradoxical breathing or use of accessory inspiratory muscles, age, and Glasgow Coma Scale score) were used to build the CART. Mortality rates 30 days after discharge ranged from 0 % to 55 % in the five CART classes. The lowest mortality rate was for the branch composed of low baseline dyspnea and lack of cardiac disease. The highest mortality rate was in the branch with the highest baseline dyspnea level, use of accessory inspiratory muscles or paradoxical breathing upon ED arrival, and Glasgow score <15. The area under the receiver-operating curve (AUC) in the derivation sample was 0.835 (95 % CI: 0.783, 0.888) and 0.794 (95 % CI: 0.723, 0.865) in the validation sample. CART was improved to predict 60-days mortality risk by adding the Charlson Comorbidity Index, reaching an AUC in the derivation sample of 0.817 (95 % CI: 0.776, 0.859) and 0.770 (95 % CI: 0.716, 0.823) in the validation sample. Conclusions: We identified several easy-to-determine variables that allow clinicians to classify eCOPD patients by short term mortality risk, which can provide useful information for establishing appropriate clinical care. Trial registration: NCT02434536

Gene Editing in Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Over the last years, an important development has allowed the scientific community to address a precise and accurate modification of the genome. The first probe of concept appeared with the design and use of engineered zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), which was expanded later on with the discovery and engineering of meganucleases and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and finally democratized and made easily available to the whole scientific community with the discovery of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 nuclease combination technology. The availability of these tools has allowed a precise gene editing, such as knockout of a specific gene or the correction of a defective gene by means of homologous recombination (HR), taking advantage of the endogenous cell repair machinery. This process was already known and used but was inefficient—efficiency that has been increased more than 100-fold with the addition of the mentioned specific nucleases to the process. Apart from the proper design of the nucleases to recognize and cut the selected site in the cell genome, two main goals need to be adequately addressed to optimize its function: the delivery of the tools into the desired cells and the selection of those where the gene editing process has occurred correctly. Both steps can be easily solved when the source of cells is extensive or can be expanded and manipulated in vitro extensively, such as immortalized cell lines or pluripotent stem cells (embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells). However, both steps are critical in the case of primary cells, such as the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs are a rare cell population present in the bone marrow (BM) of higher mammals, and it is the responsible for the maintenance and replenishment of all hematopoietic cells for the lifespan of the animals by means of two fundamental properties: self-renewal and multipotency. HSC population is then the ideal target for the correction of hematopoietic genetic diseases and also for the knockout of the responsible genes to in vitro and in vivo model those hematopoietic diseases. This rare population cannot be expanded and its in vitro manipulation and culture negatively affects their fundamental properties of self-renewal and multipotency. These factors challenge the application of gene editing to HSCs. Important efforts are now ongoing trying to optimize the protocols of gene delivery and selection for HSCs. This chapter will review and discuss how researchers are trying to solve them, all attempts that are ongoing and the potential application of the technology to the patients affected with hematopoietic genetic diseases