A Double-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial of Niacinamide 4% versus Hydroquinone 4% in the Treatment of Melasma

Background. Multiple modalities have been used in the treatment of melasma with variable success. Niacinamide has anti-inflammatory properties and is able to decrease the transfer of melanosomes. Objective. To evaluate the therapeutic effect of topical niacinamide versus hydroquinone (HQ) in melasma patients. Patients and Methods. Twenty-seven melasma patients were randomized to receive for eight weeks 4% niacinamide cream on one side of the face, and 4% HQ cream on the other. Sunscreen was applied along the observation period. They were assessed by noninvasive techniques for the evaluation of skin color, as well as subjective scales and histological sections initially and after the treatment with niacinamide. Results. All patients showed pigment improvement with both treatments. Colorimetric measures did not show statistical differences between both sides. However, good to excellent improvement was observed with niacinamide in 44% of patients, compared to 55% with HQ. Niacinamide reduced importantly the mast cell infiltrate and showed improvement of solar elastosis in melasma skin. Side effects were present in 18% with niacinamide versus 29% with HQ. Conclusion. Niacinamide induces a decrease in pigmentation, inflammatory infiltrate, and solar elastosis. Niacinamide is a safe and effective therapeutic agent for this condition

Digitalización del laboratorio de Química Física I en tiempos de COVID-19

Depto. de Química FísicaFac. de Ciencias QuímicasFALSEsubmitte

Diagnóstico rápido y efectivo de brucelosis bovina en sangre, mediante una reacción en cadena de la polimerasa doble

Brucellosis is a major infectious disease of cattle. It is also an international trade barrier for the import and export of dairy and beef products. In Mexico, bovine brucellosis is diagnosed using the card, rivanol, and complement fixation serological tests. Molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are rapid, specific diagnostic tools for brucellosis. This research developed a duplex PCR assay for the diagnosis of brucellosis in cattle blood samples, using the omp2 and BSCP31 genes. Fifty three (53) blood samples with rivanol titers of 1:400, and 60 serologically-negative samples were used. The optimum concentrations of both primers and magnesium chloride for specific fragment amplifications were 100 nM and 0.5 mM, respectively. The analytical sensitivity of duplex PCR was 100 fg/μ,,,,l DNA, while the optimum amplification concentration was 1 ng/μ,,,,l DNA. Analytical specificity was 100%. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 96.3% and 100%, respectively. The results of this study provide evidence for the routine use of duplex PCR in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis directly on blood samples, as a highly safe, sensitive, specific method.La brucelosis es una de las enfermedades infecciosas más importantes del ganado y representa una barrera para la importación y exportación de productos lácteos y cárnicos. En México, el diagnóstico se realiza mediante las pruebas serológicas de tarjeta, rivanol y fijación del complemento. Los métodos moleculares, como la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR), son herramientas rápidas y especí­ficas para el diagnóstico de la enfermedad. En el presente trabajo se desarrolló el diagnóstico de brucelosis por PCR doble, a partir de muestras de sangre, utilizando los genes omp2 y BSCP31. Para este estudio se utilizaron 53 muestras de sangre con tí­tulos de rivanol de 1:400 y 60 muestras con resultados negativos a las pruebas serológicas. Las concentraciones óptimas de iniciadores y cloruro de magnesio para lograr la amplificación especí­fica de los dos fragmentos, fueron de 100 nM y 0.5 mM respectivamente. La sensibilidad analí­tica alcanzada para la PCR doble fue de 100 fg/μ,,,,l de ADN, mientras que la concentración óptima de amplificación fue de 1 ng/μ,,,,l de ADN. La especificidad analí­tica obtenida fue del 100 %, mientras que la sensibilidad y la especificidad diagnóstica fueron del 96.3 % y 100 % respectivamente. Los resultados de este estudio aportan evidencia para el uso rutinario de la PCR doble para el diagnóstico de la brucelosis bovina directamente de muestras de sangre, ya que es un método altamente seguro, sensible y especí­fico

miniBELEN: a modular neutron counter for (a, n) reactions

miniBELEN is a modular and transportable neutron moderated counter with a nearly flat neutron detection efficiency up to 10 MeV. Modularity implies that the moderator can be reassembled in different ways in order to obtain different types of response. The detector has been developed in the context of the Measurement of Alpha Neutron Yields (MANY) collaboration, which is a scientific effort aiming to carry out measurements of (a, n) production yields, reaction cross-sections and neutron energy spectra. In this work we present and discuss several configurations of the miniBELEN detector. The experimental validation of the efficiency calculations using 252Cf sources and the measurement of the 27Al(a, n) 30P reaction is also presented.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under grants FPA2017-83946- C2-1 & C2-2 and PID2019-104714GB-C21 & C22, the Generalitat Valenciana Grant PROMETEO/2019/007, both cofounded by FEDER (EU), and the SANDA project funded under H2020-EURATOM-1.1 Grant No. 847552. The authors acknowledge the support from Centro de Microanálisis de Materiales (CMAM) - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, for the beam time proposal (Comissioning of neutron detector systems for (a,݊n) reaction measurements) with code P01156, and its technical staff for their contribution to the operation of the accelerator.Article signat per 41 autors/es: N. Mont-Geli, A. Tarifeño-Saldivia, L.M. Fraile, S. Viñals, A. Perea, M. Pallàs, G. Cortés, E. Nácher, J.L. Tain, V. Alcayne, A. Algora, J. Balibrea-Correa, J. Benito, M.J.G. Borge, J.A. Briz, F. Calviño, D. Cano-Ott, A. De Blas, C. Domingo-Pardo, B. Fernández, R. Garcia, G. García, J. Gómez-Camacho, E.M. González-Romero, C. Guerrero, J. Lerendegui-Marco, M. Llanos, T. Martínez, E. Mendoza, J.R. Murias, S.E.A. Orrigo, A. Pérez de Rada, V. Pesudo, J. Plaza, J.M. Quesada, A. Sánchez, V. Sánchez-Tembleque, R. Santorelli, O. Tengblad, J.M. Udías and D. Villamarín.Postprint (published version

Multicentre, randomised, single-blind, parallel group trial to compare the effectiveness of a Holter for Parkinson's symptoms against other clinical monitoring methods: study protocol

Introduction In recent years, multiple studies have aimed to develop and validate portable technological devices capable of monitoring the motor complications of Parkinson's disease patients (Parkinson's Holter). The effectiveness of these monitoring devices for improving clinical control is not known. Methods and analysis This is a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled clinical trial. Neurologists from Spanish health centres will be randomly assigned to one of three study arms (1:1:1): (a) therapeutic adjustment using information from a Parkinson?s Holter that will be worn by their patients for 7 days, (b) therapeutic adjustment using information from a diary of motor fluctuations that will be completed by their patients for 7 days and (c) therapeutic adjustment using clinical information collected during consultation. It is expected that 162 consecutive patients will be included over a period of 6 months. The primary outcome is the efficiency of the Parkinson?s Holter compared with traditional clinical practice in terms of Off time reduction with respect to the baseline (recorded through a diary of motor fluctuations, which will be completed by all patients). As secondary outcomes, changes in variables related to other motor complications (dyskinesia and freezing of gait), quality of life, autonomy in activities of daily living, adherence to the monitoring system and number of doctor?patient contacts will be analysed. The noninferiority of the Parkinson's Holter against the diary of motor fluctuations in terms of Off time reduction will be studied as the exploratory objective. Ethics and dissemination approval for this study has been obtained from the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge Ethics Committee. The results of this study will inform the practical utility of the objective information provided by a Parkinson's Holter and, therefore, the convenience of adopting this technology in clinical practice and in future clinical trials. We expect public dissemination of the results in 2022.Funding This work is supported by AbbVie S.L.U, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III [DTS17/00195] and the European Fund for Regional Development, 'A way to make Europe'

Healthcare workers hospitalized due to COVID-19 have no higher risk of death than general population. Data from the Spanish SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

Aim To determine whether healthcare workers (HCW) hospitalized in Spain due to COVID-19 have a worse prognosis than non-healthcare workers (NHCW). Methods Observational cohort study based on the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry, a nationwide registry that collects sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data on patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Spain. Patients aged 20-65 years were selected. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with mortality. Results As of 22 May 2020, 4393 patients were included, of whom 419 (9.5%) were HCW. Median (interquartile range) age of HCW was 52 (15) years and 62.4% were women. Prevalence of comorbidities and severe radiological findings upon admission were less frequent in HCW. There were no difference in need of respiratory support and admission to intensive care unit, but occurrence of sepsis and in-hospital mortality was lower in HCW (1.7% vs. 3.9%; p = 0.024 and 0.7% vs. 4.8%; p<0.001 respectively). Age, male sex and comorbidity, were independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality and healthcare working with lower mortality (OR 0.211, 95%CI 0.067-0.667, p = 0.008). 30-days survival was higher in HCW (0.968 vs. 0.851 p<0.001). Conclusions Hospitalized COVID-19 HCW had fewer comorbidities and a better prognosis than NHCW. Our results suggest that professional exposure to COVID-19 in HCW does not carry more clinical severity nor mortality

Actas del V Congreso ISUF-H Costa Rica 2021: Ciudades espontáneas versus ciudades planificadas: distintos retos, distintas realidades

En el año 2021 celebramos en Costa Rica la V edición del Congreso ISUF-H, los días 1, 2 y 3 de diciembre, con la Escuela de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Costa Rica como anfitriona del evento. El congreso “Ciudades espontáneas versus ciudades planificadas: distintos retos, distintas realidades” propuso como eje central una reflexión crítica sobre los procesos de urbanización planificada y urbanización espontánea, en el cual se fomente un abordaje de las ciudades como expresión de organización social, económica, ambiental y cultural, enfatizando el carácter ideológico de la urbanización y subrayando su continua construcción como resultado de construcciones complejas. La celebración de un nuevo congreso en América Latina, permitió reforzar la tradición crítica en el abordaje de las ciudades, y reforzar también la necesidad de plantear una perspectiva latinoamericana de los estudios urbanos, y por consiguiente de una teoría urbana latinoamericana. En esta ocasión el congreso se centró en ahondar en la temática de la forma urbana, desde perspectivas transversales que involucren las amplias disciplinas que asumen como objeto de discusión las problemáticas de la ciudad contemporánea y cuestionan la dicotomía planteada entre lo espontáneo y lo planificado. Para la Escuela de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Costa Rica y su Laboratorio de Ciudad y Territorio es un honor haber podido llevar a cabo esta nueva edición del congreso de la Asociación ISUF-H como segunda sede en un país latinoamericano. Relevante para fortalecer la temática de la forma urbana en la región, reforzando alianzas y estableciendo nuevas redes que permitan compartir conocimientos a partir de las experiencias de esas diversidades urbanas. Auspiciar el debate en torno a la morfología urbana y las diferencias entre esas ciudades espontáneas y las planificadas, fue una oportunidad para reunir a expertos de las distintas latitudes hispánicas.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ingeniería::Facultad de Ingeniería::Escuela de Arquitectur

Mis casos clínicos de especialidades odontológicas

Libro que muestra la atención de casos clínicos particulares referente a las diferentes especialidades odontológicasLibro que muestra la atención de casos clínicos particulares referente a las diferentes especialidades odontológicasUniversidad Autónoma de Campeche Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Méxic

Evidence of spatial clustering of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases in Greater Mexico City: report from the Mexican Inter-Institutional Group for the identification of the causes of childhood leukemia

BackgroundA heterogeneous geographic distribution of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases has been described, possibly, related to the presence of different environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to explore the geographical distribution of childhood ALL cases in Greater Mexico City (GMC).MethodsA population-based case-control study was conducted. Children &lt;18 years old, newly diagnosed with ALL and residents of GMC were included. Controls were patients without leukemia recruited from second-level public hospitals, frequency-matched by sex, age, and health institution with the cases. The residence address where the patients lived during the last year before diagnosis (cases) or the interview (controls) was used for geolocation. Kulldorff’s spatial scan statistic was used to detect spatial clusters (SCs). Relative risks (RR), associated p-value and number of cases included for each cluster were obtained.ResultsA total of 1054 cases with ALL were analyzed. Of these, 408 (38.7%) were distributed across eight SCs detected. A relative risk of 1.61 (p&lt;0.0001) was observed for the main cluster. Similar results were noted for the remaining seven ones. Additionally, a proximity between SCs, electrical installations and petrochemical facilities was observed.ConclusionsThe identification of SCs in certain regions of GMC suggest the possible role of environmental factors in the etiology of childhood ALL