An approximation to the identification of contexts, experiences, and profiles of victims of drug-facilitated sexual assaults

This study advances on overcoming a bias limiting the forensic cases studies of drug-facilitated sexual assaults: a narrow study focus, restricted to assaults affecting young women in leisure contexts related to nightlife, party culture, and dating. A new working framework is applied to analyse data from cases received in the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (Madrid, Spain) over the six years between 2012 and 2017. The work throws light on non-previously described contexts, experiences, and profiles of victims, including domestic cohabitation, labour, education, healthcare, women trafficking, and the daily life of people with intellectual disabilities.Ministerio de Sanidad (Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas) e Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales (UAH, IUICP

Temperature and pressure transducer based on FBG for large diameter water pipes

A specific temperature and pressure optical fiber transducer is presented in this paper. By using a customized fiber reinforced plastic membrane with embedded Fiber Bragg Gratings, the fluid pressure and temperatures changes are converted in optical wavelength displacements. The membrane and the transducer custom design allows a suitable measurand discrimination. The transducer is implemented, characterized and calibrated. Its feasibility to be used on large diameter water pipes has been successfully validated by means of field trials. Many of these transducers will be optically multiplexed to monitoring these infrastructures

Development and validation of a clinical score to estimate progression to severe or critical state in Covid-19 pneumonia hospitalized patients

The prognosis of a patient with Covid-19 pneumonia is uncertain. Our objective was to establish a predictive model of disease progression to facilitate early decision-making. A retrospective study was performed of patients admitted with Covid-19 pneumonia, classified as severe (admission to the intensive care unit, mechanic invasive ventilation, or death) or non-severe. A predictive model based on clinical, analytical, and radiological parameters was built. The probability of progression to severe disease was estimated by logistic regression analysis. Calibration and discrimination (receiver operating characteristics curves and AUC) were assessed to determine model performance. During the study period 1,152 patients presented with Covid-19 infection, of whom 229 (19.9%) were admitted for pneumonia. During hospitalization, 51 (22.3%) progressed to severe disease, of whom 26 required ICU care (11.4); 17 (7.4%) underwent invasive mechanical ventilation, and 32 (14%) died of any cause. Five predictors determined within 24 hours of admission were identified: Diabetes, Age, Lymphocyte count, SaO2, and pH (DALSH score). The prediction model showed a good clinical performance, including discrimination (AUC 0.87 CI 0.81, 0.92) and calibration (Brier score = 0.11). In total, 0%, 12%, and 50% of patients with severity risk scores ≤5%, 6-25%, and >25% exhibited disease progression, respectively. A simple risk score based on five factors predicts disease progression and facilitates early decision-making according to prognosis.Carlos III Health Institute, Spain, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SPAIN) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)Instituto de Salud Carlos II

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Adelante / Endavant

Séptimo desafío por la erradicación de la violencia contra las mujeres del Institut Universitari d’Estudis Feministes i de Gènere "Purificación Escribano" de la Universitat Jaume

Increasing awareness of the severity of female victimization by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault: A new viewpoint

The victimization of women by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault in leisure contexts was studied in this work by applying a novel approximation. A multifocal analytical strategy based on an intersectional gender-sensitive approach was used to analyse the evidence coming from both forensic case studies and contextual studies about sexual interrelation and drug use. The process of victimization comprises social changes affecting consumption patterns and sexual interaction, intersecting in the hegemonic recreational nightlife model. However, victims experience a range of situations that make it difficult for them to self-acknowledge themselves as such. Widespread myths about the victimization process add to the social questioning faced by victims, stemming from gender-based double standards which condition the expected female behaviors regarding the use of drugs and sexual interaction. The victims usually experience amnesia, lack of injuries and emotional harm, which make difficult the self-acknowledgement as a victim of sexual assault and the reporting of the episode suffered. Consequently, it is an urgent public health need to implement a new viewpoint about the victimization of women by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault in leisure contexts, able to increase awareness of the severity of this form of sexual violence. Society must recognize the existence of this problem within itself to help victims to acknowledge themselves as such, lodge a complaint and seek adequate help. The lack of this social support feeds the perpetuation of the victimization process, which exacerbates the risk of locking victims into spirals of cyclical re-victimization and favors both the underreporting as well as inadequate coping strategies

Multi-target methodology for the screening of blood specimens in drug-facilitated sexual assault cases

The forensic investigation of drug-facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA) requires the toxicological examination of biological matrices to detect possible substances in victims. Whole blood is an important sample since it is theonly one available for analysis in a considerable percentage of cases. A new screening methodology was developed for the detection of 96 compounds related to DFSA in blood. Sample treatment was based on a procedurecombining protein precipitation and phospholipid removal before HPLC-MS/MS analysis. The new method operates in scheduled multiple reaction monitoring (sMRM) mode and uses the hybrid operating of the thirdquadrupole as an ion trap. The blood samples preparation was studied comparing four different protein precipitation treatments and two widely used extraction techniques as solid phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction. The analytical performance of the screening method was evaluated in terms of selectivity and limits of detection. Finally, successful results were obtained applying the new method to the analysis of fifteen samples from real cases of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences

An ecological working framework as a new model for understanding and preventing the victimization of women by drug-facilitated sexual assault

An innovative approach towards the holistic and multidisciplinary study of the victimization of women by drug-facilitated sexual assault has been developed. This phenomenon constitutes a significant problem given the narrowing of the gender gap in drug use over the last few decades and the widespread presence of psychoactive substances worldwide. As violence against women and drug misuse intersect in this phenomenon, this intersectional nature emphasizes the need for a novel approach that enables us to go beyond the studies carried out to date. Consequently, a multidimensional strategy incorporating a gender-sensitive approach has been implemented. The study was aligned with approaches recommended by international authorities concerning sustainable development, thus meeting current global challenges. Furthermore, the study was structured based on an ecological model divided into multiple influence levels and integrating the triangular theory of violence. As a result, a new ecological working framework was built as a multilevel platform useful for understanding and preventing the victimization of women by drug-facilitated sexual assault