Does long-term length of stay on board affect the repatriation rates of seafarers?

Background: The length of seafarers’ contract has undergone scrutiny regarding the health, welfare, and fatigue of the crew. This study investigates whether a stay of more than 200 days can increase the risk of medical repatriation among Filipino seafarers. Materials and methods: We reviewed the number of medical repatriations from January 2014 to December 2016, specifically those who were repatriated after more than 200 days on board. We used WHO ICD-10 classification to categorise diseases and medical events that cause the repatriation, and classified them under “Injury” or “Illness” as defined by the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Manual. We also separated those who worked on cargo vessels as well as those who worked on passenger ships. We requested for the total number of seafarers who worked longer than 200 days on board. After calculating a repatriation rate for this specific group of long-term workers, we then compared this with a previous study. Chi-square analysis and regression analysis were applied to analyse the data comparing the passenger versus cargo ships repatriation rates. Results: There were a total of 840 cases of long-term repatriations in this study for the 3 year period. The total number of crew who had stayed for more than 200 days was 51,830. The different causes of repatriation are presented. Repatriation rates are also shown and a study of the regular stay and long term contracts are also compared. Conclusions: There are various disease entities significantly higher in the long term work group. We offer some possible explanations for some of these differences in repatriation rates. This data could be useful in planning of schedules, work hours and contracts as well as the prevention of disease in seafarers

Análisis de ladrillos, morteros y pigmentos de una pintura mural, pertenecientes a monumentos mudéjares de Villalba de los Barros (Extremadura)

Se ha utilizado la técnica de fluorescencia de rayos X para el análisis de los diferentes pigmentos encontrados en los fragmentos de los restos de una pintura mural mudejar de Villalba de los Barros (Badajoz). Se han encontrado pigmen tos de origen orgánico y pigmentos basados en óxidos de hierro. Mediante la di fracción de rayos X han sido analizadas las dos capas de mortero de la prepara ción de la pintura mural y dos muestras de ladrillos y morteros de unión recogidas de la muralla mudéjar de Villalba de los Barros. Todos los morteros son de cal aérea y únicamente difieren en la proporción árido/ligante. Se ha obtenido que uno de los ladrillos podría haber alcanzado una temperatura de cocción más ele vada; -950-1.000 °C frente a -800-850 °C del segundo ladrillo

Five-year (2015–2019) follow-up study of 6,526 cases of medical repatriation of Filipino seafarers

Background: There is a limited number of studies on the medical repatriation of seafarers. The aimof the study was to follow up on the previous 2010–2014 study using data from 2015–2019 to evaluatethe epidemiology of medical repatriation among Filipino seafarers.Materials and methods: Data from medical repatriation records of Filipino seafarers from January 2015 toDecember 2019 were collected from various claims departments of different manning agencies in Manila,Philippines.Results: Data from a total of 6,526 medical repatriation cases and 464,418 deployments in a 5-year periodresulted in a medical repatriation rate calculated at 1.4%. We used the 10th revision of the InternationalStatistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) to determine the most commoncauses of repatriation. We found that these were musculoskeletal disorders, gastrointestinal problems,and traumatic injuries. The distribution of the specific illnesses per organ system is presented.Conclusions: Filipinos continue to represent the most numerous group of seafarers in the world. The continuedprofiling of health issues should lead to better health protocols and controlling medical costs. Itshould also lead to better prioritisation of health protection and care on board ships. Within the present10-year database of medical repatriations coinciding with the implementation of Maritime ConventionLabour Convention 2006, there is a compelling need to compare the two data sets to have an objectiveevaluation of the convention’s projected goals

Determinants of worse liver-related outcome according to HDV infection among HBsAg positive persons living with HIV: Data from the ICONA cohort

Objectives: We aimed to study hepatitis D virus (HDV) prevalence and risk of progression to severe liver-related events (SLRE) in HBsAg positive people living with HIV (PLWH) in Italy; role of HDV-RNA copy levels, HCV coinfection and nadir CD4 counts were also investigated.Methods: People living with HIV (PLWH) from Italian Foundation cohort Naive antiretrovirals (ICONA) with available HBsAg and HDV Ab were enrolled. HBsAg, HDV Ab, HDV-RNA and HDV genotypes were tested. Primary end-point: time from first HDV screening to Severe Liver Related Events (SLRE: decompensated cirrhosis, liver transplantation, HCC). Fine-grey regression models were used to evaluate the association of HDV Ab, HDV-RNA, HDV/HCV coinfection, CD4 nadir and outcome. Secondary end-points: time to SLRE or death; HDV Ab and HDV-RNA prevalence.Results: A total of 152/809 (18.8%) HBsAg positive PLWH showed HDV Ab reactivity; 63/93 (67.7%) were HDV-RNA positive. Being male, persons who inject drugs (PWID), HCV Ab positive, with FIB-4 > 3.25 were independent factors of HDV Ab positivity. In a median follow-up of 5 years, 37 PLWH (4.1% at 5-year) developed SLRE and 97 (12.0%) reached the SLRE or death end-point. HDV-RNA positive (independently from HDV-RNA copy level) PLWH had a 4.6-fold (95%CI 2.0-10.5) higher risk of SLRE than HDV negatives. PLWH positive for both HCV Ab and HDV Ab showed the highest independent risk of SLRE (ASHR: 11.9, 95%CI: 4.6-30.9 vs. HCV neg/HDV neg). Nadir CD4 < 200/mL was associated with SLRE (ASHR: 3.9, 95% 1.0-14.5).Conclusions: One-fifth of the HBsAg positive PLWH harbour HDV infection, and are at high risk of progression to advanced liver disease. HCV contributes to worse outcomes. This population needs urgently effective treatments

Engineering DNA-Grafted Quatsomes as Stable Nucleic Acid-Responsive Fluorescent Nanovesicles

The development of artificial vesicles into responsive architectures capable of sensing the biological environment and simultaneously signaling the presence of a specific target molecule is a key challenge in a range of biomedical applications from drug delivery to diagnostic tools. Herein, the rational design of biomimetic DNA-grafted quatsome (QS) nanovesicles capable of translating the binding of a target molecule to amphiphilic DNA probes into an optical output is presented. QSs are synthetic lipid-based nanovesicles able to confine multiple organic dyes at the nanoscale, resulting in ultra-bright soft materials with attractiveness for sensing applications. Dye-loaded QS nanovesicles of different composition and surface charge are grafted with fluorescent amphiphilic nucleic acid-based probes to produce programmable FRET-active nanovesicles that operate as highly sensitive signal transducers. The photophysical properties of the DNA-grafted nanovesicles are characterized and the highly selective, ratiometric detection of clinically relevant microRNAs with sensitivity in the low nanomolar range are demonstrated. The potential applications of responsive QS nanovesicles for biosensing applications but also as functional nanodevices for targeted biomedical applications is envisaged.This work was financially supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska- Curie grant agreement “Nano-Oligo Med” (No 778133), Ministry of Science and Innovation (MINECO), Spain, through the “MOL4BIO” project (PID2019-105622RB-I00) and by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (DTS20/00018), Italian Ministry of University and Research (Project of National Interest, PRIN, 2017Y2PAB8_004 through the project “Cutting Edge Analytical Chemistry Methodologies and Bio-Tools to Boost Precision Medicine in Hormone-Related Diseases”. M.R. was supported from a Fondazione Umberto Veronesi postdoctoral fellowship. Furthermore, ICMAB-CSIC acknowledges support from the MINECO through the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496 and CEX2019-000917-S). Quatsome production and their physicochemical characterization has been performed by the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (U6) of the ICTS “NANBIOSIS”, a unit of the CIBER network in Bioengineering, Biomaterials & Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) located at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC).Peer reviewe

Experience sampling methods for the personalised prediction of mental health problems in Spanish university students: protocol for a survey-based observational study within the PROMES-U project

IntroductionThere is a high prevalence of mental health problems among university students. Better prediction and treatment access for this population is needed. In recent years, short-term dynamic factors, which can be assessed using experience sampling methods (ESM), have presented promising results for predicting mental health problems.Methods and analysisUndergraduate students from five public universities in Spain are recruited to participate in two web-based surveys (at baseline and at 12-month follow-up). A subgroup of baseline participants is recruited through quota sampling to participate in a 15-day ESM study. The baseline survey collects information regarding distal risk factors, while the ESM study collects short-term dynamic factors such as affect, company or environment. Risk factors will be identified at an individual and population level using logistic regressions and population attributable risk proportions, respectively. Machine learning techniques will be used to develop predictive models for mental health problems. Dynamic structural equation modelling and multilevel mixed-effects models will be considered to develop a series of explanatory models for the occurrence of mental health problems.Ethics and disseminationThe project complies with national and international regulations, including the Declaration of Helsinki and the Code of Ethics, and has been approved by the IRB Parc de Salut Mar (2020/9198/I) and corresponding IRBs of all participating universities. All respondents are given information regarding access mental health services within their university and region. Individuals with positive responses on suicide items receive a specific alert with indications for consulting with a health professional. Participants are asked to provide informed consent separately for the web-based surveys and for the ESM study. Dissemination of results will include peer-reviewed scientific articles and participation in scientific congresses, reports with recommendations for universities’ mental health policy makers, as well as a well-balanced communication strategy to the general public

Accuracy and Survival Outcomes after National Implementation of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early Stage Endometrial Cancer

Background. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has recently been accepted to evaluate nodal status in endometrial cancer at early stage, which is key to tailoring adjuvant treatments. Our aim was to evaluate the national implementation of SLN biopsy in terms of accuracy to detect nodal disease in a clinical setting and oncologic outcomes according to the volume of nodal disease. Patients and Methods. A total of 29 Spanish centers participated in this retrospective, multicenter registry including patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma at preoperative early stage who had undergone SLN biopsy between 2015 and 2021. Each center collected data regarding demographic, clinical, histologic, therapeutic, and survival characteristics. Results. A total of 892 patients were enrolled. After the surgery, 12.9% were suprastaged to FIGO 2009 stages III-IV and 108 patients (12.1%) had nodal involvement: 54.6% macrometastasis, 22.2% micrometastases, and 23.1% isolated tumor cells (ITC). Sensitivity of SLN biopsy was 93.7% and false negative rate was 6.2%. After a median follow up of 1.81 years, overall surivial and disease-free survival were significantly lower in patients who had macrometastases when compared with patients with negative nodes, micrometastases or ITC. Conclusions. In our nationwide cohort we obtained high sensitivity of SLN biopsy to detect nodal disease. The oncologic outcomes of patients with negative nodes and low-volume disease were similar after tailoring adjuvant treatments. In total, 22% of patients with macrometastasis and 50% of patients with micrometastasis were at low risk of nodal metastasis according to their preoperative risk factors, revealing the importance of SLN biopsy in the surgical management of patients with early stage EC