Standardization of a new photodiagnosis method based on LEDs for patients with solar urticaria sensitive to visible light

Standard methods for photodiagnosis of solar urticaria are based in exposure of patient skin to different polychromatic UV and visible sources where minimal urticarial doses for different spectral bands (UVB and UVA) are established. Classical photodiagnosis devices are based in solar simulation and use of UVB and UVA enhanced fluorescent lamps. In case of visible US photodiagnosis, US patient skin is exposed for 15 min to a slight projector, provided with halogen lamp, at a distance of 15 cms and presence of erythema and/or wheals is determined as positive reaction. Slights projector is from several years almost out of market due to use of new projection digital technologies and new visible light emerging technologies are good candidates for their substitution as photodiagnosis tool. The objective of the present work is to analyze photodiagnosis of visible light solar urticaria with using a LED device in comparison to normal slight projector exposure protocol. A total of twenty patients, from 7 different photodiagnosis units have participated in the study. Patients, with SU positive to visible light (with or without to UV radiation) following the standard photodiagnosis protocols were included in the study. Slight projector used in all photodiagnosis units were of similar characteristics and irradiance at 15 cm distance, as well as total dose of visible light after 15 min were calculated for each halogen lamp device. LED exposure was performed in parallel in a closed zone of the back of the patients. For LED photodiagnosis a prototype from University of Málaga (Spain) has been developed consisting in a black box provided with 4 holes of 12 mm diameter in which each hole white warm of a LED of 1 W is emitted. Thus, each LEDs dose is controlled independently and the device allows establishing, as well as for UVB and UVA normal protocols a MUD also under visible light. In that case, maximal visible light dose is reached in less than 5 min compared to 15 min under exposure to slight projector. All patients were positive to LED warm visible light with presence of erythema and / or wheals in parallel to the exposure to the slight projector. A MUD to visible light has been established with significant variations between patients which reveals different grade to visible light sensibilization. In conclusion, a new technology of illumination based in LEDs can be used in photodiagnosis of SU.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Standardization of a new photodiagnosis method based on LEDs for patients with solar urticaria

Standard methods for photodiagnosis of solar urticaria are based in exposure of patient skin to different polychromatic UV and visible sources where minimal urticarial doses for different spectral bands (UVB and UVA) are established. Classical photodiagnosis devices are based in solar simulation and use of UVB and UVA enhanced fluorescent lamps. In case of visible US photodiagnosis, US patient skin is exposed for 15 min to a slight projector, provided with halogen lamp, at a distance of 15 cms and presence of erythema and/or wheals is determined as positive reaction. Slights projector is from several years almost out of market due to use of new projection digital technologies and new visible light emerging technologies are good candidates for their substitution as photodiagnosis tool. The objective of the present work is to analyze photodiagnosis of visible light solar urticaria with using a LED device in comparison to normal slight projector exposure protocol. A total of 30patients, from 8 different photodiagnosis units have participated in the study. Patients, with SU positive to visible light (with or without to UV radiation) following the standard photodiagnosis protocols were included in the study. Slight projector used in all photodiagnosis units were of similar characteristics and irradiance at 15 cm distance, as well as total dose of visible light after 15 min were calculated for each halogen lamp device. LED exposure was performed in parallel in a closed zone of the back of the patients. For LED photodiagnosis a prototype from University of Málaga (Spain) has been developed consisting in a black box provided with 4 holes of 12 mm diameter in which each hole white warm of a LEDof 1 W is emitted. Thus, each LEDs dose is controlled independently and the device allows establishing, as well as for UVB and UVA normal protocols a MUD also under visible light. In that case, maximal visible light dose is reached in less than 5 min compared to 15 min under exposure to slight projector. All patients were positive to LED warm visible light with presence of erythema and / or wheals in parallel to the exposure to the slight projector. A MUD to visible light has been established with significant variations between patients which reveals different grade to visible light sensibilization. In conclusion, a new technology of illumination based in LEDs can be used in photodiagnosis of SU.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Estudio hidroquímico de los embalses afectados por procesos de drenaje ácido de mina en la faja pirítica ibérica

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enhanced Exchange And Reduced Magnetization of Gd in an Fe/Gd/Fe Trilayer

The exchange interaction of Gd adjacent to Fe has been characterized by transport measurements on a double spin valve with a Fe/Gd/Fe trilayer as the middle layer. Our measurements show that the ferromagnetism of the Gd is enhanced by the presence of the Fe, and it remains ferromagnetic over its Curie temperature up to a thickness no smaller than 1 nm adjacent to the Fe. This thickness is more than double what has been reported before. Additionally, the saturation magnetization of the thin Gd layer sandwiched in Fe was found to be half of its bulk value. This reduced magnetization does not seem to be related to the proximity of Fe but rather to the incomplete saturation of Gd even for very high field

Caracterización hidrogeoquímica de efluentes de escombreras en el grupo minero la Zarza-Perruna

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Higher incidence of adverse events in isolated patients compared with non-isolated patients: a cohort study

Objective To determine whether isolated patients admitted to hospital have a higher incidence of adverse events (AEs), to identify their nature, impact and preventability. Design Prospective cohort study with isolated and non-isolated patients. Setting One public university hospital in the Valencian Community (southeast Spain). Participants We consecutively collected 400 patients, 200 isolated and 200 non-isolated, age ≥18 years old, to match according to date of entry, admission department, sex, age (±5 years) and disease severity from April 2017 to October 2018. Exclusion criteria: patients age <18 years old and/or reverse isolation patients. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome as the AE, defined according to the National Study of Adverse Effects linked to Hospitalisation (Estudio Nacional Sobre los Efectos Adversos) criteria. Cumulative incidence rates and AE incidence density rates were calculated. Results The incidence of isolated patients with AEs 16.5% (95% CI 11.4% to 21.6%) compared with 9.5% (95% CI 5.4% to 13.6%) in non-isolated (p<0.03). The incidence density of patients with AEs among isolated patients was 11.8 per 1000 days/patient (95% CI 7.8 to 15.9) compared with 4.3 per 1000 days/patient (95% CI 2.4 to 6.3) among non-isolated patients (p<0.001). The incidence of AEs among isolated patients was 18.5% compared with 11% for non-isolated patients (p<0.09). Among the 37 AEs detected in 33 isolated patients, and the 22 AEs detected in 19 non-isolated patients, most corresponded to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) for both isolated and non-isolated patients (48.6% vs 45.4%). There were significant differences with respect to the preventability of AEs, (67.6% among isolated patients compared with 52.6% among non-isolated patients). Conclusions AEs were significantly higher in isolated patients compared with non-isolated patients, more than half being preventable and with HAIs as the primary cause. It is essential to improve training and the safety culture of healthcare professionals relating to the care provided to this type of patient

A Watermelon mosaic virus clone tagged with the yellow visual maker phytoene synthase facilitates scoring infectivity in melon breeding programs

This research was supported by grants BIO2014 54269-R, AGL2014 53398-C2 2-R, BIO2017 83184-R, and AGL2017 85563-C2 1-R from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (co-financed FEDER funds)Aragones, V.; Pérez De Castro, AM.; Cordero, T.; Cebolla Cornejo, J.; López Del Rincón, C.; Picó Sirvent, MB.; Daros Arnau, JA. (2019). A Watermelon mosaic virus clone tagged with the yellow visual maker phytoene synthase facilitates scoring infectivity in melon breeding programs. European Journal of Plant Pathology. 153:317-323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-018-01621-xS317323153Altschul, S. F., Gish, W., Miller, W., Myers, E. W., & Lipman, D. J. (1990). Basic local alignment search tool. Journal of Molecular Biology, 215(3), 403–410.Azevedo-Meleiro, C. H., & Rodriguez-Amaya, D. B. (2007). Qualitative and quantitative differences in carotenoid composition among Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita pepo. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 55(10), 4027–4033.Bedoya, L. C., Martínez, F., Orzáez, D., & Daròs, J. A. (2012). Visual tracking of plant virus infection and movement using a reporter MYB transcription factor that activates anthocyanin biosynthesis. Plant Physiology, 158(3), 1130–1138.Brown, R. N., Bolanos-Herrera, A., Myers, J. R., & Jahn, M. M. (2003). Inheritance of resistance to four cucurbit viruses in Cucurbita moschata. Euphytica, 129(3), 253–258.Cordero, T., Cerdán, L., Carbonell, A., Katsarou, K., Kalantidis, K., & Daròs, J. A. (2017a). Dicer-Like 4 is involved in restricting the systemic movement of Zucchini yellow mosaic virus in Nicotiana benthamiana. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, 30(1), 63–71.Cordero, T., Mohamed, M. A., López-Moya, J. J., & Daròs, J. A. (2017b). A recombinant Potato virus Y infectious clone tagged with the Rosea1 visual marker (PVY-Ros1) facilitates the analysis of viral infectivity and allows the production of large amounts of anthocyanins in plants. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, 611.Cuevas, H. E., Staub, J. E., Simon, P. W., & Zalapa, J. E. (2009). A consensus linkage map identifies genomic regions controlling fruit maturity and beta-carotene-associated flesh color in melon (Cucumis melo L.). TAG. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 119(4), 741–756.Desbiez, C., & Lecoq, H. (2004). The nucleotide sequence of Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV, Potyvirus) reveals interspecific recombination between two related potyviruses in the 5′ part of the genome. Archives of Virology, 149(8), 1619–1632.Desbiez, C., & Lecoq, H. (2008). Evidence for multiple intraspecific recombinants in natural populations of Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV, Potyvirus). Archives of Virology, 153(9), 1749–1754.Formisano, G., Roig, C., Esteras, C., Ercolano, M. R., Nuez, F., Monforte, A. J., & Picó, M. B. (2012). Genetic diversity of Spanish Cucurbita pepo landraces: An unexploited resource for summer squash breeding. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 59(6), 1169–1184.Gibson, D. G., Young, L., Chuang, R. Y., Venter, J. C., Hutchison 3rd, C. A., & Smith, H. O. (2009). Enzymatic assembly of DNA molecules up to several hundred kilobases. Nature Methods, 6(5), 343–345.Gilbert, R. Z., Kyle, M. M., Munger, H. M., & Gray, S. M. (1994). Inheritance of resistance to watermelon mosaic virus in Cucumis melo L. Hortscience, 29(2), 107–110.Gur, A., Gonda, I., Portnoy, V., Tzuri, G., Chayut, N., Cohen, S., et al. (2016). Genomic aspects of melon fruit quality. In R. Grumet, N. Katzir and J. García-Mas (Eds.), Genetics and genomics of the Cucurbitaceae (pp. 377–408), Springer International Publishing AG 2016.Juarez, M., Legua, P., Mengual, C. M., Kassem, M. A., Sempere, R. N., Gómez, P., Truniger, V., & Aranda, M. A. (2013). Relative incidence, spatial distribution and genetic diversity of cucurbit viruses in eastern Spain. Annals of Applied Biology, 162(3), 362–370.López-González, S., Aragonés, V., Daròs, J. A., Sánchez, F., & Ponz, F. (2017). An infectious cDNA clone of a radish-infecting Turnip mosaic virus strain. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 148(1), 207–211.Majer, E., Daròs, J. A., & Zwart, M. P. (2013). Stability and fitness impact of the visually discernible Rosea1 marker in the tobacco etch virus genome. Viruses, 5(9), 2153–2168.Majer, E., Llorente, B., Rodríguez-Concepción, M., & Daròs, J. A. (2017). Rewiring carotenoid biosynthesis in plants using a viral vector. Scientific Reports, 7, 41645.Olives Barba, A. I., Cámara Hurtado, M., Sánchez Mata, M. C., Fernández Ruiz, V., & López Sáenz de Tejada, M. (2006). Application of a UV-vis detection-HPLC method for a rapid determination of lycopene and β-carotene in vegetables. Food Chemistry, 95(2), 328–336.Ouibrahim, L., Mazier, M., Estevan, J., Pagny, G., Decroocq, V., Desbiez, C., Moretti, A., Gallois, J. L., & Caranta, C. (2014). Cloning of the Arabidopsis rwm1 gene for resistance to Watermelon mosaic virus points to a new function for natural virus resistance genes. The Plant Journal, 79(5), 705–716.Paris, H. S. (2016). Genetic resources of pumpkins and squash, Cucurbita spp.. In R. Grumet, N. Katzir y J. García-Mas (eds.), Genetics and genomics of the Cucurbitaceae (pp. 111–154), Springer International Publishing AG 2016.Passeri, V., Koes, R., & Quattrocchio, F. M. (2016). New challenges for the design of high value plant products: Stabilization of anthocyanins in plant vacuoles. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7, 153.Pitrat, M. (2016). Melon genetic resources: Phenotypic diversity and horticultural taxonomy. In R. Grumet, N. Katzir y J. García-Mas (eds.), Genetics and genomics of the Cucurbitaceae (pp. 25–60), Springer International Publishing AG 2016.Qin, X., Coku, A., Inoue, K., & Tian, L. (2011). Expression, subcellular localization, and cis-regulatory structure of duplicated phytoene synthase genes in melon (Cucumis melo L.). Planta, 234(4), 737–748.Revers, F., & García, J. A. (2015). Molecular biology of potyviruses. Advances in Virus Research, 92, 101–199.Rodamilans, B., Valli, A., Mingot, A., San León, D., Baulcombe, D., López-Moya, J. J., & García, J. A. (2015). RNA polymerase slippage as a mechanism for the production of frameshift gene products in plant viruses of the Potyviridae family. Journal of Virology, 89(13), 6965–6967.Schaefer, B. C. (1995). Revolutions in rapid amplification of cDNA ends: New strategies for polymerase chain-reaction cloning of full-length cDNA ends. Analytical Biochemistry, 227(2), 255–273.Thole, V., Worland, B., Snape, J. W., & Vain, P. (2007). The pCLEAN dual binary vector system for Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. Plant Physiology, 145(4), 1211–1219.Zhang, Y., Butelli, E., & Martin, C. (2014). Engineering anthocyanin biosynthesis in plants. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 19, 81–90

New alkaloid antibiotics that target the DNA topoisomerase I of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae has two type II DNA-topoisomerases (DNA-gyrase and DNA topoisomerase IV) and a single type I enzyme (DNA-topoisomerase I, TopA), as demonstrated here. Although fluoroquinolones target type II enzymes, antibiotics efficiently targeting TopA have not yet been reported. Eighteen alkaloids (seven aporphine and 11 phenanthrenes) were semisynthesized from boldine and used to test inhibition both of TopA activity and of cell growth. Two phenanthrenes (seconeolitsine and N-methyl-seconeolitsine) effectively inhibited both TopA activity and cell growth at equivalent concentrations (∼17 μM). Evidence for in vivo TopA targeting by seconeolitsine was provided by the protection of growth inhibition in a S. pneumoniae culture in which the enzyme was overproduced. Additionally, hypernegative supercoiling was observed in an internal plasmid after drug treatment. Furthermore, a model of pneumococcal TopA was made based on the crystal structure of Escherichia coli TopA. Docking calculations indicated strong interactions of the alkaloids with the nucleotide-binding site in the closed protein conformation, which correlated with their inhibitory effect. Finally, although seconeolitsine and N-methyl-seconeolitsine inhibited TopA and bacterial growth, they did not affect human cell viability. Therefore, these new alkaloids can be envisaged as new therapeutic candidates for the treatment of S. pneumoniae infections resistant to other antibiotics.The work was supported by Comunidad de Madrid Grant CM-BIO0260-2006, COMBACT (to J. H. and A. G. C.); Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Grants BIO2008-02154 (to A. G. C.), BFU2008-01711 (to J. A. H.), and SAF2008-03477 (to M. J. S.); and Spanish Ministry of Health, Carlos III Health Institute Grants RIER, RD08/0075/0016 (to M. J. S.).S

Effect of sterilization processes on alginate/gelatin inks for three-dimensional printing

Sterilization is a crucial step in the process of developing bioinks for tissue engineering applications. In this work, alginate/gelatin inks were subjected to three sterilization methods: ultraviolet (UV) radiation, filtration (FILT), and autoclaving (AUTO). In addition, to simulate the sterilization effect in a real environment, inks were formulated in two different media, specifically, Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM) and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). First, rheological tests were performed to evaluate the flow properties of the inks, and we observed that UV samples showed shear thinning behavior, which was favorable for three dimensional (3D) printing. Furthermore, the 3D-printed constructs developed with UV inks showed better shape and size fidelity than those obtained with FILT and AUTO. In order to relate this behavior to the material structure, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis was carried out and the predominant conformation in protein was determined by deconvolution of the amide I band, which confirmed that the prevalence of a-helix structure was greater for UV samples. This work highlights the relevance of sterilization processes, which are essential for biomedical applications, in the research field of bioinksAuthors thank Basque Government (IT1658-22 and KK2022-00019) for the funding. T.C. also thanks Basque Government for her fellowship (PRE_2021_1_0254)

A protocol for resuscitation of severe burn patients guided by transpulmonary thermodilution and lactate levels: A 3-year prospective cohort study

Introduction: The use of urinary output and vital signs to guide initial burn resuscitation may lead to suboptimal resuscitation. Invasive hemodynamic monitoring may result in over-resuscitation. This study aimed to evaluate the results of a goal-directed burn resuscitation protocol that used standard measures of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and urine output, plus transpulmonary thermodilution (TPTD) and lactate levels to adjust fluid therapy to achieve a minimum level of preload to allow for sufficient vital organ perfusion. Methods: We conducted a three-year prospective cohort study of 132 consecutive critically burned patients. These patients underwent resuscitation guided by MAP (>65 mmHg), urinary output (0.5 to 1 ml/kg), TPTD and lactate levels. Fluid therapy was adjusted to achieve a cardiac index (CI) >2.5 L/minute/m2 and an intrathoracic blood volume index (ITBVI) >600 ml/m2, and to optimize lactate levels. Statistical analysis was performed using mixed models. We also used Pearson or Spearman methods and the Mann-Whitney U-test. Results: A total of 98 men and 34 women (mean age, 48 ± 18 years) was studied. The mean total body surface area (TBSA) burned was 35% ± 22%. During the early resuscitation phase, lactate levels were elevated (2.58 ± 2.05 mmol/L) and TPTD showed initial hypovolemia by the CI (2.68 ± 1.06 L/minute/m2) and the ITBVI (709 ± 254 mL/ m2). At 24 to 32 hours, the CI and lactic levels were normalized, although the ITBVI remained below the normal range (744 ± 276 ml/m2). The mean fluid rate required to achieve protocol targets in the first 8 hours was 4.05 ml/ kg/TBSA burned, which slightly increased in the next 16 hours. Patients with a urine output greater than or less than 0.5 ml/kg/hour did not show differences in heart rate, mean arterial pressure, CI, ITBVI or lactate levels. Conclusions: Initial hypovolemia may be detected by TPTD monitoring during the early resuscitation phase. This hypovolemia might not be reflected by blood pressure and hourly urine output. An adequate CI and tissue perfusion can be achieved with below-normal levels of preload. Early resuscitation guided by lactate levels and below-normal preload volume targets appears safe and avoids unnecessary fluid input