The 2017 parliamentary elections in Chile: Voters’ traits and voting factors

In this paper we introductorily explore the Chilean parliamentary elections which, together with the presidential ones, took place in November 2017. To do so, we have employed the Chilean post-election questionnaire of the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP), carried out by the Universidad Diego Portales (uDP). After reviewing the circumstances under which the elections took place, we have analysed the profiles of the voters de Chile Vamos (CV), La Fuerza de la Mayoría (FM), and Frente Amplio (FA), as well as those of non voters. Finally, we have estimated a multinomial logit model.Este trabajo explora las razones de voto a coaliciones en las elecciones parlamentarias celebradas en Chile en noviembre de 2017. Para ello, hemos empleado la encuesta postelectoral realizada por la Universidad Diego Portales (udp) y que forma parte del Comparative National Elections Project (cnep). Tras un repaso del contexto en el que las elecciones tuvieron lugar, hemos analizado los perfiles de los votantes de Chile Vamos (cv), La Fuerza de la Mayoría (fm) y Frente Amplio (fa), así como de los abstencionistas, y hemos estimado un modelo multinomial, para comprobar el efecto de distintas variables en las probabilidades de voto a cada coalició

Extracellular ferritin contributes to neuronal injury in an in vitro model of ischemic stroke

Previous clinical and experimental studies have shown that neurological decline and poor functional outcome after acute ischemic stroke in humans are associated with high ferritin levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within 24 hours of ischemic stroke onset. The aim of the present study was to find out if and how high extracellular ferritin concentrations can increase the excitotoxicity effect in a neuronal cortical culture model of stroke. Extracellular ferritin (100 ng/ml) significantly increased the excitotoxic effect caused by excessive exogenous glutamate (50 µM and 100 µM) by leading to an increase in lipid peroxidation, a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential and a decrease in neuron viability. Extracellular apoferritin (100 ng/ml), the iron-free form of the protein, does not increase the excitotoxicity of glutamate, which proves that iron was responsible for the neurotoxic effect of the exogenous ferritin. We present evidence that extracellular ferritin iron exacerbate the neurotoxic effect induced by glutamate excitotoxicity and that the effect of ferritin iron is dependent of glutamate excitotoxicity. Our results support the idea that body iron overload is involved in the severity of the brain damage caused by stroke and reveal the need to control systemic iron homeostasis

Intermittent Hypobaric Hypoxic Preconditioning Provides Neuroprotection by Increasing Antioxidant Activity, Erythropoietin Expression and Preventing Apoptosis and Astrogliosis in the Brain of Adult Rats Exposed to Acute Severe Hypoxia

Background: Exposure to intermittent hypoxia has been demonstrated to be an efficienttool for hypoxic preconditioning, preventing damage to cells and demonstrating therapeutic benefits.We aimed to evaluate the effects of respiratory intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) to avoid braininjury caused by exposure to acute severe hypoxia (ASH). Methods: biomarkers of oxidative damage,mitochondrial apoptosis, and transcriptional factors in response to hypoxia were assessed by Westernblot and immunohistochemistry in brain tissue. Four groups of rats were used: (1) normoxic (NOR),(2) exposed to ASH (FiO27% for 6 h), (3) exposed to IHH for 3 h per day over 8 days at 460 mmHg,and (4) ASH preconditioned after IHH. Results: ASH animals underwent increased oxidative-stress-related parameters, an upregulation in apoptotic proteins and had astrocytes with phenotype formscompatible with severe diffuse reactive astrogliosis. These effects were attenuated and even preventedwhen the animals were preconditioned with IHH. These changes paralleled the inhibition of NF-κBexpression and the increase of erythropoietin (EPO) levels in the brain. Conclusions: IHH exertedneuroprotection against ASH-induced oxidative injury by preventing oxidative stress and inhibitingthe apoptotic cascade, which was associated with NF-κB downregulation and EPO upregulatio

Marañón y la identidad sexual: biología, sexualidad y género en la España de la década de 1920

This article examines three works by Gregorio Marañón, published for the first time in 1926 under the epigraph Tres ensayos sobre la vida sexual [Three essays on sexual life]. These essays had a huge impact and they were republished several times. The aim of this paper is to help situate Marañon’s medical and scientific views, as expressed in these essays, in the political, scientific and socio-cultural context of 1920s Spain. Marañón’s theory of sexual differentiation and his defence of women’s maternal mission is discussed at a time when many feminists accepted a sexualised view of the world in which women’s identity was articulated around motherhood. The analysis of these essays is framed in the contemporary historiography on sexuality and women’s history.En este artículo se examinan tres trabajos de Gregorio Marañón, publicados por primera vez en 1926 y agrupados bajo el epígrafe de Tres ensayos sobre la vida sexual. Estos ensayos tuvieron una gran resonancia y fueron objeto de numerosas ediciones. El objetivo de este trabajo es contribuir a situar las posiciones científicas y médicas, expresadas por Marañón en estos ensayos, en el contexto socio-cultural, científico y político de la España de la década de 1920. Se discute la teoría de la diferenciación sexual de Marañón y su defensa de la misión maternal de las mujeres en una época en la que muchas feministas asumieron una visión sexualizada del mundo y en la que la identidad femenina se articulaba en torno a la maternidad. El análisis de estos ensayos es enmarcado en la historiografía contemporánea sobre la historia de la sexualidad y la historia de las mujeres

Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio for the Assessment of Intermediate Left Main Coronary Artery Stenosis: Correlations With Fractional Flow Reserve/Intravascular Ultrasound and Prognostic Implications: The iLITRO-EPIC07 Study

Background: There is little information available on agreement between fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) in left main coronary artery (LMCA) intermediate stenosis. Besides, several meta-analyses support the use of FFR to guide LMCA revascularization, but limited information is available on iFR in this setting. Our aims were to establish the concordance between FFR and iFR in intermediate LMCA lesions, to evaluate with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in cases of FFR/iFR discordance, and to prospectively validate the safety of deferring revascularization based on a hybrid decision-making strategy combining iFR and IVUS. Methods: Prospective, observational, multicenter registry with 300 consecutive patients with intermediate LMCA stenosis who underwent FFR and iFR and, in case of discordance, IVUS and minimal lumen area measurements. Primary clinical end point was a composite of cardiovascular death, LMCA lesion-related nonfatal myocardial infarction, or unplanned LMCA revascularization. Results: FFR and iFR had an agreement of 80% (both positive in 67 and both negative in 167 patients); in case of disagreement (31 FFR+/iFR- and 29 FFR-/iFR+) minimal lumen area was & GE;6 mm(2) in 8.7% of patients with FFR+ and 14.6% with iFR+. Among the 300 patients, 105 (35%) underwent revascularization and 181 (60%) were deferred according to iFR and IVUS. At a median follow-up of 20 months, major adverse cardiac events incidence was 8.3% in the defer group and 13.3% in the revascularization group (hazard ratio, 0.71 [95% CI 0.30-1.72]; P=0.45). Conclusions: In patients with intermediate LMCA stenosis, a physiology-guided treatment decision is feasible either with FFR or iFR with moderate concordance between both indices. In case of disagreement, the use of IVUS may be useful to indicate revascularization. Deferral of revascularization based on iFR appears to be safe in terms of major adverse cardiac events

Spectral analysis-based risk score enables early prediction of mortality and cerebral performance in patients undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for ventricular fibrillation and comatose status

Background: Early prognosis in comatose survivors after cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation (VF) is unreliable, especially in patients undergoing mild hypothermia. We aimed at developing a reliable risk-score to enable early prediction of cerebral performance and survival. Methods: Sixty-one out of 239 consecutive patients undergoing mild hypothermia after cardiac arrest, with eventual return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and comatose status on admission fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Background clinical variables, VF time and frequency domain fundamental variables were considered. The primary and secondary outcomes were a favorable neurological performance (FNP) during hospitalization and survival to hospital discharge, respectively. The predictive model was developed in a retrospective cohort (n = 32; September 2006 September 2011, 48.5 ± 10.5 months of follow-up) and further validated in a prospective cohort (n = 29; October 2011 July 2013, 5 ± 1.8 months of follow-up). Results: FNP was present in 16 (50.0%) and 21 patients (72.4%) in the retrospective and prospective cohorts, respectively. Seventeen (53.1%) and 21 patients (72.4%), respectively, survived to hospital discharge. Both outcomes were significantly associated (p < 0.001). Retrospective multivariate analysis provided a prediction model (sensitivity = 0.94, specificity = 1) that included spectral dominant frequency, derived power density and peak ratios between high and low frequency bands, and the number of shocks delivered before ROSC. Validation on the prospective cohort showed sensitivity = 0.88 and specificity = 0.91. A model-derived risk-score properly predicted 93% of FNP. Testing the model on follow-up showed a c-statistic ≥ 0.89. Conclusions: A spectral analysis-based model reliably correlates time-dependent VF spectral changes with acute cerebral injury in comatose survivors undergoing mild hypothermia after cardiac arrest.the CNIC is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Pro-CNIC Foundation.Filgueiras-Rama, D.; Calvo Saiz, CJ.; Salvador-Montañés, Ó.; Cádenas, R.; Ruiz-Cantador, J.; Armada, E.; Rey, JR.... (2015). Spectral analysis-based risk score enables early prediction of mortality and cerebral performance in patients undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for ventricular fibrillation and comatose status. International Journal of Cardiology. 186:250-258. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.03.074S25025818

Rationale and design of the Concordance study between FFR and iFR for the assessment of lesions in the left main coronary artery. The ILITRO-EPIC-07 Trial

Introduction and objectives: Patients with left main coronary artery (LMCA) stenosis have been excluded from the trials that support the non-inferiority of the instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) compared to the fractional flow reserve (FFR) in the decision-making process of coronary revascularization. This study proposes to prospectively assess the concordance between the two indices in LMCA lesions and to validate the iFR cut-off value of 0.89 for clinical use. Methods: National, prospective, and observational multicenter registry of 300 consecutive patients with intermediate lesions in the LMCA (angiographic stenosis, 25% to 60%. A pressure gudiewire study and determination of the RFF and the iFR will be performed: in the event of a negative concordant result (FFR > 0.80/iFR > 0.89), no treatment will be performed; in case of a positive concordant result (FFR 0.80/iFR 0.89), an intravascular echocardiography will be performed and revascularization will be delayed if the minimum lumen area is > 6 mm(2). The primary clinical endpoint will be a composite of cardiovascular death, LMCA lesion-related non-fatal infarction or need for revascularization of the LMCA lesion at 12 months. Conclusions: Confirm that an iFR-guided decision-making process in patients with intermediate LMCA stenosis is clinically safe and would have a significant clinical impact. Also, justify its systematic use when prescribing treatment in these potentially high-risk patients

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