Schistosoma haematobium infection and morbidity risk factors for pre-school age children in western Angola: A knowledge, attitudes and practices survey

Schistosomiasis; Medical risk factors; MorbidityEsquistosomiasi; Factors de risc mèdic; MorbilitatEsquistosomiasis; Factores de riesgo médico; MorbilidadBackground Urogenital schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a poverty-related disease conditioned by behavioural practices. Methods Our objective is to evaluate the awareness, mindset and habits about urogenital schistosomiasis in the community of Cubal (Angola), as well as its association with infection and urinary tract morbidity in pre-school age children. A cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitudes and practices at home was conducted between February and May 2022 with 250 participants. Results Overall, 93.6% of those surveyed had some prior knowledge about schistosomiasis and, among all the symptoms associated with this disease, blood in the urine was the best known (54.4%). Nevertheless, 57.6% obtained a medium knowledge score. Regarding attitude, the majority of respondents had a high attitude score (79.2%) with 96.0% willing to participate in mass drug administration campaigns. Laundry in the river was the most common risk practice (61.2%) and 55.2% out of the total were classified with a low practice score. Conclusion Low knowledge about symptoms and transmission by caregivers was the outstanding risk factor for infection in pre-school age children (OR = 16.93, 95%CI: 3.93–72.82), and lack of knowledge that avoiding entering the river prevents schistosomiasis was the main risk factor for morbidity in PSAC (OR = 8.14, 95%CI: 1.14–58.25).This research was supported by the Red de Investigación de Centros de Enfermedades Tropicales – RICET of the PN de I+D+I, ISCIII-Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa RETICS), Ministry of Health and Consumption, Madrid; by CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (Projects CB21/13/00056 and CB21/13/00029), ISCIII, Ministry of Science and Education, Madrid; by Project No. 2021/004 of the PROMETEO Program, Programa de Ayudas para Grupos de Investigación de Excelencia, Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Thermal Infrared Imaging to Evaluate Emotional Competences in Nursing Students: A First Approach through a Case Study

19 p.During university studies of nursing, it is important to develop emotional skills for their impact on academic performance and the quality of patient care. Thermography is a technology that could be applied during nursing training to evaluate emotional skills. The objective is to evaluate the effect of thermography as the tool for monitoring and improving emotional skills in student nurses through a case study. The student was subjected to different emotions. The stimuli applied were video and music. The process consisted of measuring the facial temperatures during each emotion and stimulus in three phases: acclimatization, stimulus, and response. Thermographic data acquisition was performed with an FLIR E6 camera. The analysis was complemented with the environmental data (temperature and humidity). With the video stimulus, the start and final forehead temperature from testing phases, showed a different behavior between the positive (joy: 34.5 °C–34.5 °C) and negative (anger: 36.1 °C–35.1 °C) emotions during the acclimatization phase, different from the increase experienced in the stimulus (joy: 34.7 °C–35.0 °C and anger: 35.0 °C–35.0 °C) and response phases (joy: 35.0 °C–35.0 °C and anger: 34.8 °C–35.0 °C). With the music stimulus, the emotions showed different patterns in each phase (joy: 34.2 °C–33.9 °C–33.4 °C and anger: 33.8 °C–33.4 °C–33.8 °C). Whenever the subject is exposed to a stimulus, there is a thermal bodily response. All of the facial areas follow a common thermal pattern in response to the stimulus, with the exception of the nose. Thermography is a technique suitable for the stimulation practices in emotional skills, given that it is non-invasive, it is quantifiable, and easy to accessS

Musculoskeletal Pain and Teleworking in Times of the COVID-19: Analysis of the Impact on the Workers at Two Spanish Universities

[EN] The special situation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and the confinement imposed by the Government, has given rise to numerous changes in working habits. The workers at the universities have had to start a period of teleworking that could give rise to consequences for the musculoskeletal system. The objective of this article is to analyze the impact of the confinement on the musculoskeletal health of the staff of two Spanish universities. A cross-sectional, observational study was carried out on the workers. Data was taken in April–May 2020 and included: The Standardized Kuorinka Modified Nordic Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale and another one on sociodemographic data. This study comprised 472 people. The areas of pain noted during the confinement period concluded that it was less in all cases (p < 0.001). The frequency of physical activity carried out increased significantly during the period of confinement (p < 0.04), especially in women. The type of physical activity done was also seen to modify during this period (p < 0.001), with a preference for strength training and stretching exercises. In conclusion, the confinement gave rise to changes in the lifestyle and in the musculoskeletal pain of the workers at the universities. All of this must be taken into account by health institutions and those responsible for the Prevention of Occupational Risks at Spanish universities.S

Leadership and contagion by COVID-19 among residence hall students: A social network analysis approach

University students have changed their behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we describe the characteristics of PCR+ and PCR- nodes, analyse the structure, and relate the structure of student leaders to pandemic contagion as determined by PCR+ in 93 residential university students. Leadership comes from the male students of social science degrees who have PCR +, with an eigenvector centrality structure, β-centrality, and who are part of the bow-tie structure. There was a significant difference in β-centrality between leaders and non-leaders and in β-centrality between PCR+ and non-leaders. Leading nodes were part of the bow-tie structure. MR-QAP results show how residence and scientific branch were the most important factors in network formation. Therefore, university leaders should consider influential leaders, as they are vectors for disseminating both positive and negative outcomes.S

Effectiveness of physical therapy interventions in women with dyspareunia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

[EN] Background Dyspareunia is defined as the occurrence of pain during or after sexual intercourse, which directly affects physical, sexual, and mental health. This condition can lead to depression, anxiety, and low self‑esteem in women who experience it. Objectives The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapy interventions for the treat‑ ment of female dyspareunia. Design A systematic review and meta‑analysis was conducted. Method Search of publications was conducted in Scopus, Medline, Pubmed, Cinahl and Web of Science. Treatment effects were defined as standardized mean difference and their 95% confidence intervals. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using Crohan’s Q test and quantified using the I2 index. Results Of the 19 articles selected, six applied multimodal physiotherapy treatments; five, electrotherapy; three, Thiele’s massage; two, interdisciplinary interventions or pelvic floor muscle training; and one, extracorporeal shock‑ wave therapy. The meta‑analysis showed significant results for the variables pain and quality of life with the interven‑ tions based on electrotherapy and electrotherapy combined with pelvic floor muscle training. These interventions did not show significant results for the improvement of sexual function. Conclusions Physiotherapy techniques are effective and procedures have been identified with reliable results in improving pain and quality of life in patients with dyspareunia. One of the most important aspects is the strength‑ ening of the perineal musculature and the application of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. Furthermore, manual trigger point release therapy and Thiele massage, optimize and guarantee the reduction of pain intensity.S

Prevalence and morbidity of urogenital schistosomiasis among pre-school age children in Cubal, Angola

Morbidity; Urine; SchistosomiasisMorbilidad; Orina; EsquistosomiasisMorbilitat; Orina; EsquistosomiasiBackground: Schistosomiasis is one of the most important neglected tropical diseases, with a great impact on public health and more than 200,000 deaths annually. Schistosoma haematobium causes urinary tract (UT) morbidity. Since schistosomiasis morbidity control programs focus on children older than 5 years, pre-school age children (PSAC) morbidity is not well known. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Cubal (Angola) among 245 PSAC with the objective of evaluating the prevalence of S. haematobium infection, the intensity of infection, and associated morbidity. For this purpose, urine filtration test followed by microscopic visualization and ultrasound examinations were performed. Results: The estimated overall prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis was 30.2% (CI 95%; 24.5-35.9), with 20.3% (CI 95%; 15.3-25.3) of the samples analysed showing a high intensity of infection. A total of 54.5% (CI 95%; 47.6-61.8) of infected children presented UT lesions, showing a significant association between schistosomiasis infection and UT morbidity (p-value < 0.001). Bladder wall thickening was the most common lesion, being present in 100% of abnormal ultrasounds. We found that anaemia and severe malnutrition were not significantly associated with the development of UT lesions. Conclusions: S. haematobium infection in PSAC causes great UT detectable morbidities. Therefore, there is an evident need of including them in mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns and consequently the development of an adapted praziquantel treatment dosage for children under 2 years of age.This research was supported by the Red de Investigación de Centros de Enfermedades Tropicales–RICET (Grant No. RD16/0027/0023 and RD16/0027/0003) of the PN de I+D+I, ISCIII-Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa RETICS), Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption; by CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (Grant No. CB21/13/00056 and CB21/13/00029), ISCIII, Spanish Ministry of Science and Education; and by the PROMETEO Program, Programa of Ayudas para Grupos de Investigación de Excelencia, Generalitat Valenciana (Grant No. 2021/004)

Synergistic Activity of Niclosamide in Combination With Colistin Against Colistin-Susceptible and Colistin-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Colistin is among the few antibiotics effective against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates. However, in the last few years, colistin-resistant A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae strains have emerged. Therefore, combination therapies, between colistin and other old drugs, restoring the activity of colistin are required. The main objective of this study was to analyse the activity of niclosamide, an anthelmintic drug, in combination with colistin against colistin-susceptible (Col-S) and colistin-resistant (Col-R) A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae. The MIC were determined by microdilution assay and the time-kill curves were performed. The zeta potential of Col-S and Col-R of A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae in presence of niclosamide was assessed. Niclosamide in combination with colistin showed improved activity against Col-S and Col-R A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae. Time-killing curves showed synergic activity between niclosamide and colistin against Col-S and Col-R A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae, especially when niclosamide or colistin was added for second time at 4 h of the 24 h killing curve. Col-R A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae in presence of niclosamide exhibited a greater negative charge (−34.95 ± 0.35 mV and −38.85 ± 0.92 mV; P < 0.05) than Col-R A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae in absence of niclosamide (−26.85 ± 3.65 mV and −35.27 ± 0.72 mV). These data suggest that niclosamide might be combined with colistin, being a potential alternative for treatment of Col-R Gram-negative bacilli infections.Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIProyectos de Investigacion en Salud PI16/01378Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CP15/0135

Use of the Barthel Index to Assess Activities of Daily Living before and after SARS-COVID 19 Infection of Institutionalized Nursing Home Patients

[Abstract] The objective of the present study was to evaluate the activities of daily living (ADLs) using the Barthel Index before and after infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and also to determine whether or not the results varied according to gender. The ADLs of 68 cohabiting geriatric patients, 34 men and 34 women, in two nursing homes were measured before and after SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)) infection. COVID-19 infection was found to affect the performance of ADLs in institutionalized elderly in nursing homes, especially in the more elderly subjects, regardless of sex. The COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to having claimed many victims, especially in the elderly population, has led to a reduction in the abilities of these people to perform their ADLs and caused considerable worsening of their quality of life even after recovering from the disease

Use of the Barthel Index to Assess Activities of Daily Living before and after SARS-COVID 19 Infection of Institutionalized Nursing Home Patients

[EN] The objective of the present study was to evaluate the activities of daily living (ADLs) using the Barthel Index before and after infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and also to determine whether or not the results varied according to gender. The ADLs of 68 cohabiting geriatric patients, 34 men and 34 women, in two nursing homes were measured before and after SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)) infection. COVID-19 infection was found to affect the performance of ADLs in institutionalized elderly in nursing homes, especially in the more elderly subjects, regardless of sex. The COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to having claimed many victims, especially in the elderly population, has led to a reduction in the abilities of these people to perform their ADLs and caused considerable worsening of their quality of life even after recovering from the disease.S

Impact of Intrapartum Oral Azithromycin on the Acquired Macrolide Resistome of Infants' Nasopharynx: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

In a post hoc analysis of samples from an intrapartum azithromycin randomized clinical trial, we found that children whose mothers had been treated with the drug had higher prevalence of macrolide-resistance genes msr(A) and ermC at 28 days but not at 12 months. The 2 genes were positively associated in the nasopharynx. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT1800942