Relación entre la desigualdad económica y desigualdad en el uso del agua

En este trabajo se estudia la posible relación entre la desigualdad económica y la desigualdad en el uso del agua mundial. De la misma manera, se estudian los diferentes indicadores existentes para la medición de la desigualdad, además de poner en práctica dos de ellos. Hemos evaluado la desigualdad de dichas variables para un periodo global(1971-2020) y dos subperiodos. Asimismo, hemos evaluado dicha desigualdad entre las regiones del mundo. <br /

Secondary effects after SARS-CoV2 vaccination in health care workers (ESVACUNAS)

Artículo original[ES] Introducción: En la actualidad la única herramienta que tenemos contra la COVID-19 son las vacunas, en este estudio utilizaremos las vacunas desarrolladas por BioNTech-Pfizer (Comirnaty) y Moderna (Spikevax) y realizaremos un análisis de los efectos secundarios producidos por las mismas. El objetivo de este estudio es identificar nuevos efectos secundarios provocados por las vacunas mencionadas entre los profesionales sanitarios del Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa de Zaragoza vacunados desde el 16 de Enero de 2021 hasta la actualidad, así como identificar aquellos efectos secundarios no incluidos en los prospectos. Método: Estudio observacional retrospectivo tras la administración de la 2a dosis de la vacuna en todos los profesionales sanitarios. Se realizó un cuestionario anónimo y voluntario preguntando por efectos secundarios tras la primera y segunda dosis. El análisis de datos se realizó con la prueba estadística Chi-Cuadrado. Resultados: se obtuvieron los porcentajes: linfadenopatías 96,4%, sensación distérmica y escalofríos 96,3%, fiebre el 94,4%, cefaleas con un 90,9%, astenia un 88%, mialgias con un 74,4% del total, otros descritos 3,62%. Conclusiones: aquellos vacunados con Moderna presentaron más sintomatología, no se alcanzaron valores necesarios para determinar que exista asociación significativamente estadística al respecto. Los síntomas experimentados, en una muestra extrapolable a la población general, se ajustan casi en su totalidad a los reflejados en ficha técnica de las vacunas desarrolladas, sí cabe mencionar que los datos recogidos sobre alteraciones en los ciclos menstruales, la lactancia materna, o el priapismo son síntomas que no se habían descrito inicialmente en las fichas técnicas de las vacunas. [EN] Introduction: Currently the only tool we have against COVID-19 are vaccines. In this study we will use the vaccines developed by BioNTech-Pfizer (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax), and we will carry out an analysis of the side effects they produced by them. The objective of this study is to identify new side effects caused by the aforemen-tioned vaccines among health professionals at the Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital in Zaragoza vaccinated from January 16, 2021 to the present, as well as to identify those side effects not included in the leaflets. Method: Retrospective observational study after administration of the 2nd dose of the vaccine in all health pro-fessionals. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire was conducted asking about side effects after the first and second dose. Data analysis was carried out with the Chi-Square statistical test. Results: The percentages were obtained: lymphadenopathy 96.4%, dysthermic sensation and chills 96.3%, fever 94.4%, headaches with 90.9%, asthenia 88%, myalgias with 74.4% of the total , others described 3.62%. Conclusions: Those vaccinated with Moderna presented more symptoms; the necessary values were not reached to determine that there is a statistically significant association in this regard. The symptoms experienced, in a sample that can be extrapolated to the general population, correspond almost entirely to those reflected in the technical specifications of the vaccines developed. It is worth mentioning that the data collected on alterations in menstrual cycles, breastfeeding, or Priapism are symptoms that had not been initially described in the vaccine technical sheetsN

Determination of the concentration of IgG against the spike receptor-binding domain that predicts the viral neutralizing activity of convalescent plasma and serum against SARS-CoV-2

4 figures, 1 table.Passive immunization with hyperimmune plasma from convalescent patients has been proposed as a potentially useful treatment for COVID-19. Nevertheless, its efficacy in patients with COVID-19 remains uncertain. Thus, the establishment and validation of standardized methods that predict the viral neutralizing (VN) activity of plasma against SARS-CoV-2 is of utmost importance to appraise its therapeutic value. Using an in-house quantitative ELISA test and two independent cohorts with a total of 345 donors, we found that plasma and serum from most convalescent donors contained IgG antibodies specific to the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2, with varying concentrations which correlate with previous disease severity and gender. Anti-RBD IgG plasma concentration significantly correlated with the plasma/serum VN activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.Several hundred millions of people have been diagnosed of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), causing millions of deaths and a high socioeconomic burden. SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, induces both specific T- and B-cell responses, being antibodies against the virus detected a few days after infection. Passive immunization with hyperimmune plasma from convalescent patients has been proposed as a potentially useful treatment for COVID-19. Using an in-house quantitative ELISA test, we found that plasma from 177 convalescent donors contained IgG antibodies specific to the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2, although at very different concentrations which correlated with previous disease severity and gender. Anti-RBD IgG plasma concentrations significantly correlated with the plasma viral neutralizing activity (VN) against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Similar results were found using an independent cohort of serum from 168 convalescent health workers. These results validate an in-house RBD IgG ELISA test in a large cohort of COVID-19 convalescent patients and indicate that plasma from all convalescent donors does not contain a high enough amount of anti-SARS-CoV-2-RBD neutralizing IgG to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. The use of quantitative anti-RBD IgG detection systems might help to predict the efficacy of the passive immunization using plasma from patients recovered from SARS-CoV-2.This research was funded by grants from the Aragon Government (Fondo COVID-19), the Fundacion Santander-Universidad de Zaragoza (Programa COVID-19), and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (COV20-00308). Work in the JP laboratory is funded by the FEDER (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, Gobierno de Aragón (Group B29_17R), Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCNU), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (SAF2017-83120-C2-1-R), Fundacion Inocente Inocente, ASPANOA, and Carrera de la Mujer de Monzón. Work in the RH-G lab is funded by ARAID, MCNU (CTQ2013-44367-C2-2-P, BFU2016-75633-P, and PID2019-105451GB-I00), and Gobierno de Aragón (E34_R17 and LMP58_18) with FEDER (2014–2020) funds for “Building Europe from Aragón. LS was supported by a PhD fellowship (FPI) from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. IUM, SH and SR were supported by a PhD fellowship from Aragon Government. MA was supported by a post-doctoral fellowship “Juan de la Cierva-formación” from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and DdM by a post-doctoral fellowship “Sara Borrell”. JP was supported by the ARAID Foundation.Peer reviewe

X chromosome inactivation does not necessarily determine the severity of the phenotype in Rett syndrome patients

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurological disorder usually caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene. Since the MECP2 gene is located on the X chromosome, X chromosome inactivation (XCI) could play a role in the wide range of phenotypic variation of RTT patients; however, classical methylation-based protocols to evaluate XCI could not determine whether the preferentially inactivated X chromosome carried the mutant or the wild-type allele. Therefore, we developed an allele-specific methylation-based assay to evaluate methylation at the loci of several recurrent MECP2 mutations. We analyzed the XCI patterns in the blood of 174 RTT patients, but we did not find a clear correlation between XCI and the clinical presentation. We also compared XCI in blood and brain cortex samples of two patients and found differences between XCI patterns in these tissues. However, RTT mainly being a neurological disease complicates the establishment of a correlation between the XCI in blood and the clinical presentation of the patients. Furthermore, we analyzed MECP2 transcript levels and found differences from the expected levels according to XCI. Many factors other than XCI could affect the RTT phenotype, which in combination could influence the clinical presentation of RTT patients to a greater extent than slight variations in the XCI pattern

X chromosome inactivation does not necessarily determine the severity of the phenotype in Rett syndrome patients

WOS: 000481590200024PubMed ID: 31427717Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurological disorder usually caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene. Since the MECP2 gene is located on the X chromosome, X chromosome inactivation (XCI) could play a role in the wide range of phenotypic variation of RTT patients; however, classical methylation-based protocols to evaluate XCI could not determine whether the preferentially inactivated X chromosome carried the mutant or the wild-type allele. Therefore, we developed an allele-specific methylation-based assay to evaluate methylation at the loci of several recurrent MECP2 mutations. We analyzed the XCI patterns in the blood of 174 RTT patients, but we did not find a clear correlation between XCI and the clinical presentation. We also compared XCI in blood and brain cortex samples of two patients and found differences between XCI patterns in these tissues. However, RTT mainly being a neurological disease complicates the establishment of a correlation between the XCI in blood and the clinical presentation of the patients. Furthermore, we analyzed MECP2 transcript levels and found differences from the expected levels according to XCI. Many factors other than XCI could affect the RTT phenotype, which in combination could influence the clinical presentation of RTT patients to a greater extent than slight variations in the XCI pattern.Spanish Ministry of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/FEDER) [PI15/01159]; Crowdfunding program PRECIPITA, from the Spanish Ministry of Health (Fundacion Espanola para la Ciencia y la Tecnologia); Catalan Association for Rett Syndrome; Fondobiorett; Mi Princesa RettWe thank all patients and their families who contributed to this study. The work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/FEDER, PI15/01159); Crowdfunding program PRECIPITA, from the Spanish Ministry of Health (Fundacion Espanola para la Ciencia y la Tecnologia); the Catalan Association for Rett Syndrome; Fondobiorett and Mi Princesa Rett