Incidence, Clinical Characteristics and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Spain : Large-Scale Epidemiological Study

(1) Aims: To assess the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spain, to describe the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics at diagnosis and the evolution of the disease, and to explore the use of drug treatments. (2) Methods: Prospective, population-based nationwide registry. Adult patients diagnosed with IBD-Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or IBD unclassified (IBD-U)-during 2017 in Spain were included and were followed-up for 1 year. (3) Results: We identified 3611 incident cases of IBD diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals covering over 22 million inhabitants. The overall incidence (cases/100,000 person-years) was 16 for IBD, 7.5 for CD, 8 for UC, and 0.5 for IBD-U; 53% of patients were male and median age was 43 years (interquartile range = 31-56 years). During a median 12-month follow-up, 34% of patients were treated with systemic steroids, 25% with immunomodulators, 15% with biologics and 5.6% underwent surgery. The percentage of patients under these treatments was significantly higher in CD than UC and IBD-U. Use of systemic steroids and biologics was significantly higher in hospitals with high resources. In total, 28% of patients were hospitalized (35% CD and 22% UC patients, p < 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The incidence of IBD in Spain is rather high and similar to that reported in Northern Europe. IBD patients require substantial therapeutic resources, which are greater in CD and in hospitals with high resources, and much higher than previously reported. One third of patients are hospitalized in the first year after diagnosis and a relevant proportion undergo surgery

Correction : Chaparro et al. Incidence, Clinical Characteristics and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Spain: Large-Scale Epidemiological Study. J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10, 2885

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]

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

Synthesis of Novel Quaternary Ammonium Salts and Their in Vitro Antileishmanial Activity and U-937 Cell Cytotoxicity

This work describes the synthesis of a series of quaternary ammonium salts and the assessment of their in vitro antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity. A preliminary discussion on a structure-activity relationship of the compounds is also included. Three series of quaternary ammonium salts were prepared: (i) halomethylated quaternary ammonium salts (series I); (ii) non-halogenated quaternary ammonium salts (series II) and (iii) halomethylated choline analogs (series III). Assessments of their in vitro cytotoxicity in human promonocytic cells U-937 and antileishmanial activity in axenic amastigotes of L. (Viannia) panamensis (M/HOM/87/UA140-pIR-eGFP) were carried out using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) micromethod. Antileishmanial activity was also tested in intracellular amastigotes of L. (V) panamensis using flow cytometry. High toxicity for human U937 cells was found with most of the compounds, which exhibited Lethal Concentration 50 (LC50) values in the range of 9 to 46 μg/mL. Most of the compounds evidenced antileishmanial activity. In axenic amastigotes, the antileishmanial activity varied from 14 to 57 μg/mL, while in intracellular amastigotes their activity varied from 17 to 50 μg/mL. N-Chloromethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(4,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (1a), N-iodomethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(4,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (2a), N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(4,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (3a) and N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(5,5-diphenylpent-4-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (3b) turned out to be the most active compounds against intracellular amastigotes of L. (V) panamensis, with EC50 values varying between 24.7 for compound 3b and 38.4 μg/mL for compound 1a. Thus, these compounds represents new “hits” in the development of leishmanicidal drugs

Desarrollo de la comunicación oral en estudiantes de tercero de primaria del colegio Santa Juana de Lestonnac, Medellín, por medio de un e-book diseñado a partir del modelo pedagógico social

Las dificultades en la comunicación oral, cuando estas no obedecen a factores biológicos, inciden directamente en el desempeño escolar de los estudiantes, en su paso por la escuela y universidad, además, llegando a afectar, su vida personal y social. Las pretensiones de este estudio, son analizar los cambios en la comunicación oral, que se presentan después de implementar un eBook, diseñado desde la pedagogía social. Para tal fin, se evalúa, a manera de diagnóstico, un “antes” de la intervención, por medio de Instrumentos diseñados y validados para ello, procediendo luego a realizar una intervención pedagógica, la cual consiste en una secuencia didáctica (contenida en el eBook), orientada desde la pedagogía social, que integra elementos que propenden por la mejora de la comunicación oral en el grupo intervenido; posteriormente, se aplica un post test, que permitió determinar el alcance de la misma. También se implementaron instrumentos para determinar qué aspectos del eBook, fueron los que más fortalecieron el proceso de comunicación oral en las estudiantes. Entre los hallazgos de esta investigación, se encuentra que efectivamente, el desarrollo de la secuencia didáctica a través de un eBook, generó cambios en la comunicación oral de las participantes, en sus aspectos de fluidez, comprensión y vocabulario. Finalmente, se concluye, que las intervenciones pedagógicas mediadas por Recursos Educativos Digitales, apuntan a incrementar las posibilidades de éxito escolar en los estudiantes que reciben este tipo de formaciónMaestríaMagister en Recursos Digitales a la Educació

Synthesis of Novel Quaternary Ammonium Salts and Their in Vitro Antileishmanial Activity and U-937 Cell Cytotoxicity

This work describes the synthesis of a series of quaternary ammonium salts and the assessment of their in vitro antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity. A preliminary discussion on a structure-activity relationship of the compounds is also included. Three series of quaternary ammonium salts were prepared: (i) halomethylated quaternary ammonium salts (series I); (ii) non-halogenated quaternary ammonium salts (series II) and (iii) halomethylated choline analogs (series III). Assessments of their in vitro cytotoxicity in human promonocytic cells U-937 and antileishmanial activity in axenic amastigotes of L. (Viannia) panamensis (M/HOM/87/UA140-pIR-eGFP) were carried out using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) micromethod. Antileishmanial activity was also tested in intracellular amastigotes of L. (V) panamensis using flow cytometry. High toxicity for human U937 cells was found with most of the compounds, which exhibited Lethal Concentration 50 (LC50) values in the range of 9 to 46 μg/mL. Most of the compounds evidenced antileishmanial activity. In axenic amastigotes, the antileishmanial activity varied from 14 to 57 μg/mL, while in intracellular amastigotes their activity varied from 17 to 50 μg/mL. N-Chloromethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(4,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (1a), N-iodomethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(4,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (2a), N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(4,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (3a) and N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(5,5-diphenylpent-4-en-1-yl)ammonium iodide (3b) turned out to be the most active compounds against intracellular amastigotes of L. (V) panamensis, with EC50 values varying between 24.7 for compound 3b and 38.4 μg/mL for compound 1a. Thus, these compounds represents new “hits” in the development of leishmanicidal drugs

Biodiversidad 2015. Estado y tendencias de la biodiversidad continental de Colombia

El propósito de este documento es fortalecer la capacidad de agentes públicos y privados para la aplicación de la PNGIBSE, que constituye en sí misma una apuesta de interfaz entre ciencia, política y sociedad en la perspectiva de construir sostenibilidad en el desarrollo. Además de ello, representa un insumo para el seguimiento a los compromisos del país frente a convenios e iniciativas internacionales (CDB, IPBES, OCDE), así como un mecanismo pedagógico para generar interés, conciencia y apropiación de las diferentes dimensiones de la biodiversidad del país.Bogotá, D. C., ColombiaInstituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldtreporte.humboldt.org.coreporte.humboldt.org.co/biodiversidad/en

Biodiversidad 2015. Reporte de Estado y Tendencias de la Biodiversidad Continental de Colombia

El propósito de este documento es fortalecer la capacidad de agentes públicos y privados para la aplicación de la PNGIBSE, que constituye en sí misma una apuesta de interfaz entre ciencia, política y sociedad en la perspectiva de construir sostenibilidad en el desarrollo. Además de ello, representa un insumo para el seguimiento a los compromisos del país frente a convenios e iniciativas internacionales (CDB, IPBES, OCDE), así como un mecanismo pedagógico para generar interés, conciencia y apropiación de las diferentes dimensiones de la biodiversidad del país. En esta oportunidad, el reporte avanza en el desarrollo de nuevas infografías vinculadas con diferentes fuentes de información que garantizan la calidad de los datos con los que se propone y representa el estado de la biodiversidad y de su gestión en Colombia. Incluye como novedad la presentación de material en portal web dedicado (reporte.humboldt.org.co), de manera que todas las personas puedan apropiarse e interactuar con el contenido de manera más efectiva. La perspectiva es construir un modelo en tiempo real del trabajo que se desarrolla en el país para conocer, proteger, utilizar o restaurar su biodiversidad y servicios ecosistémicos, promoviendo la apropiación de todos los ciudadanos e instituciones en la tarea. Biodiversidad 2015, es evidente, aún no está en capacidad de dar cuenta de todos los procesos de gestión de biodiversidad que se dan en Colombia, liderados por múltiples actores y a todas las escalas. Paulatinamente esperamos poder abrir el espacio para incrementar la visibilidad de todas y cada una de las iniciativas que se adelanten, a sabiendas de que la posibilidad de encontrar nuevas respuestas y mejores prácticas no depende del Instituto ni de ninguna instancia en particular, sino de la capacidad colectiva de aprendizaje. Así, esperamos que este nuevo paso en la construcción de un producto colaborativo sea del interés de todos y nos permita avanzar en esa dirección. reporte.humboldt.org.coBogotá, D. C

Biodiversity 2016. Status and Trends of Colombian Continental Biodiversity

This third volume of the annual report on biodiversity in Colombia continues the editorial line that begun in 2014. Using novel analytical and graphic proposals, these reports have the goal of communicating the contents to a broad public, making it available for discussion without sacrificing the quality of information. The challenge of communication continues to be a major part of the institutional project, and the new languages with which we are learning to communicate with society and other institutions are an experiment that we expect to be increasingly gratifying. The report for 2017 is already under construction and it counts on new digital technologies so the power of a colombian vital connection may be entirely expressed. The included content evidences that we are still far away from having a systematic follow-up about most of the topics related to the management of biodiversity and ecosystem services, which is the only way to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and investments made by society. In fact, a limitation that is recognized is that of identifying positive or negative changes that affect different levels of organization of life on this planet; therefore, our global navigation route of the Aichi targets is still to be verified. An additional purpose of this process includes the invitation of all Colombians to contribute in constructing and maintaining basic monitoring indicators for management since it is impossible to identify long-term trends of flora and fauna in the country without the support of institutions, researchers, and citizens. This challenge is immense in a megadiverse country such as Colombia. For this reason, the report will continue to open its pages to experts, and even indigenous peoples or local communities, for them to present their perspectives about environmental change and its effects on biodiversity in a systematic and documented manner. This has the objective of stimulating the commitment of everyone in the management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The only way of overcoming the risk of extinction is through the active process of social learning in which all sectors assume a part of the complex responsibility in protecting the forms of life of the country, a roughly counted tenth of all creatures on Earth. I thank all the people that contributed in this Report, those who have supported us in the phases of production, and all readers and users, who are the ultimate judges of its utility.Bogotá, D. C