Silver-Derived Antimicrobial Coatings for the Prevention of Microbial Biofilms in Metal Pipes

The authors of this study would like to acknowledge the financial and technical support of the CETAQUA Foundation; without the said support, this work would not have been possible.The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable requeBiodeterioration is one of the most important processes in metal pipeline corrosion, and it can be due to physical, chemical, and biological factors. Coatings rich in silver have been used to inhibit this undesirable phenomenon. In this study, the antimicrobial properties of several silver-containing products used as a coating in pipelines were determined on a pilot scale in order to evaluate the ability of silver to inhibit biofilm formation. The results showed that the coating with silver zeolite at a concentration of 2000 mg L-1 inhibited the formation of a microbial biofilm and prevented the biodeterioration process. Therefore, from our study, it can be concluded that silver zeolite shows greater protection capacity than other silver preparations and presents advantages in relation to other silver coatings that are currently availableCETAQUA Foundatio

Analysis of directionality effects in magnetodielectric core-shell nanoparticles by means of polarimetric techniques

The influence of increasing the core size of a Ag-Si core-shell nanoparticle has been investigated by using the values of the linear polarization degree at right angle scattering configuration, PL(90º). Changes in dipolar resonances and Scattering Directionality Conditions as a function of the core radius (Rint) for a fixed shell size (Rext = 230 nm) have been analyzed. An empirical formula to obtain the ratio Rint/Rext by monitoring the influence of the magnetic dipolar resonance in PL(90º) has been found.This research was supported by MICINN (FIS2013-45854-P). Ángela I. Barreda and Y. Gutiérrez want to express their gratitude to the University of Cantabria for their FPU grant

Efectividad de 5-fluoruracilo y vinorelbina en pacientes multitratadas por cáncer de mama metastásico

Objetivo. Evaluar la actividad y toxicidad de fluoruracilo en infusión continua y vinorelbina en segunda o tercera línea de tratamiento del cáncer de mama metastásico (CMM). Método y pacientes. En este estudio fase II se incluyeron 24 pacientes que habían recibido doxorrubicina y/o paclitaxel. Se administró 5-fluoruracilo a 1g/m2/día en infusión continua por 3 días y vinorelbina a 30 mg/m2 D1 cada 21 días por 6 ciclos. Resultados. Las respuestas globales observadas fueron del 37,5% (12,5% respuestas completas). El período libre de enfermedad se calculó una media de 6,33 ± 8,12 meses (IC 95% de 3,43 meses). Se observó toxicidad en el 12,5% de las pacientes y no se registró toxicidad grave ni muertes relacionadas a tratamiento. Conclusión. El 5-fluoruracilo/vinorelbina a las dosis administradas es un esquema efectivo en pacientes con CMM multitratadas, con un bajo perfil de toxicidad y costo

Caracterización de recién nacidos según peso al nacer y edad gestacional

Caracterizar a los recién nacidos atendidos en los meses de agosto y septiembre del 2015 en los hospitales General San Juan de Dios y de Gineco-Obstetricia del Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social según edad gestacional y peso al nacer con base en las curvas de clasificación Lubchenco. Se pesó una muestra de 1362 recién nacidos sin patología, con una balanza digital pediátrica, registrando la edad gestacional y el sexo; los datos fueron tabulados y procesados con el programa Microsoft Excel 2010; se calculó media, desviación estándar y puntaje Z para comparar los datos con la curva de Lubchenco. El 52.1% de los recién nacidos (RN) hombres; el 90% de la muestra se encuentra entre las semanas 37 a la 41. Se observó distribución normal del peso con una mayor frecuencia de 2750 gr a 3249 gr, en ambos sexos. Entre las RN mujeres 89.4% se clasificaron como adecuados, 3.8% pequeños y 6.7% grandes para edad gestacional. De los recién nacidos hombres, 83.4% fueron adecuados, 4.5% pequeños y 11.7% grandes para edad gestacional. De acuerdo al puntaje Z en los hombres el 87% son pequeños para edad gestacional entre los RN pre-término. En las RN mujeres la distribución tiende a ubicarse dentro de los parámetros de peso adecuado para edad gestacional al nacer. Más de la mitad de RN son hombres. Los pesos de los recién nacidos estudiados se encontraron en su mayoría dentro de los intervalos de edad gestacional que corresponden a las semanas de un embarazo a término y se clasifican como adecuados para edad gestacional

Neurocognitive Function in Acromegaly after Surgical Resection of GH-Secreting Adenoma versus Naïve Acromegaly

Patients with active untreated acromegaly show mild to moderate neurocognitive disorders that are associated to chronic exposure to growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) hypersecretion. However, it is unknown whether these disorders improve after controlling GH/IGF-I hypersecretion. The aim of this study was to compare neurocognitive functions of patients who successfully underwent GH-secreting adenoma transsphenoidal surgery (cured patients) with patients with naive acromegaly. In addition, we wanted to determine the impact of different clinical and biochemical variables on neurocognitive status in patients with active disease and after long-term cure. A battery of six standardized neuropsychological tests assessed attention, memory and executive functioning. In addition, a quantitative electroencephalography with Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) solution was performed to obtain information about the neurophysiological state of the patients. Neurocognitive data was compared to that of a healthy control group. Multiple linear regression analysis was also conducted using clinical and hormonal parameters to obtain a set of independent predictors of neurocognitive state before and after cure. Both groups of patients scored significantly poorer than the healthy controls on memory tests, especially those assessing visual and verbal recall. Patients with cured acromegaly did not obtain better cognitive measures than naïve patients. Furthermore memory deficits were associated with decreased beta activity in left medial temporal cortex in both groups of patients. Regression analysis showed longer duration of untreated acromegaly was associated with more severe neurocognitive complications, regardless of the diagnostic group, whereas GH levels at the time of assessment was related to neurocognitive outcome only in naïve patients. Longer duration of post-operative biochemical remission of acromegaly was associated with better neurocognitive state. Overall, this data suggests that the effects of chronic exposure to GH/IGF-I hypersecretion could have long-term effects on brain functions. © 2013 Martín-Rodríguez et al.Funding for this project was provided by an R&D grant from Novartis Oncology and the Plan Andaluz de Investigación (CTS-444). DAC was supported by the “Ramón y Cajal” program (RYC-2006-001071) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.Peer Reviewe

Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy for central post-stroke pain: systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionAlthough rare, central post-stroke pain remains one of the most refractory forms of neuropathic pain. It has been reported that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be effective in these cases of pain.AimThe aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of rTMS in patients with central post-stroke pain (CPSP).MethodsWe included randomized controlled trials or Controlled Trials published until October 3rd, 2022, which studied the effect of rTMS compared to placebo in CPSP. We included studies of adult patients (>18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of stroke, in which the intervention consisted of the application of rTMS to treat CSP.ResultsNine studies were included in the qualitative analysis; 6 studies (4 RCT and 2 non-RCT), with 180 participants, were included in the quantitative analysis. A significant reduction in CPSP was found in favor of rTMS compared with sham, with a large effect size (SMD: −1.45; 95% CI: −1.87; −1.03; p < 0.001; I2: 58%).ConclusionThe findings of the present systematic review with meta-analysis suggest that there is low quality evidence for the effectiveness of rTMS in reducing CPSP.Systematic review registrationIdentifier (CRD42022365655)

Clinical and pathological features of Merkel cell carcinoma: A 4-year follow-up observational retrospective study in Spain

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a malignant skin cancer with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 50%. Knowledge of MCC has increased in recent years mostly due to improved diagnosis techniques. In Spain there is lack of information regarding the incidence and tumour characteristics, and the treatment approaches are not standardised. The objective of this study was to provide information of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of MCC patients in Spain. Methods: Retrospective, observational study involving 192 patients from 25 Spanish hospitals. Evaluated vari ables included overall survival and incidence rate of Merkel cell polyomavirus, in patients diagnosed from 2012 to 2016. Results: The Spanish incidence rate was estimated 0.32/100,000 inhabitants/year, with variations according to geographical regions, being slightly higher in areas with greater sunlight exposure. In total, 61.5% of tumours showed expansive growth (progressive growth of the tumour), 78.6% showed localisation in UV-exposed skin. 97.4% of patients were diagnosed by excisional biopsy. Surgery was the first line treatment in 96.6% of patients, radiotherapy in 24.6%, and chemotherapy in 6.3%. These treatments were not mutually exclusive. Median overall survival was 38.3 months (78.4% at 12 months and 60% at 24 months). MCPyV was present in 33.8% of patients. Conclusion: The incidence of MCC in Spain is one of the highest in Europe, with a slight predominance in men. The sample has shown that a biopsy is available for diagnosis in most cases. Moreover, the treatment is surgical when the tumour is localized and is associated with lymphadenectomy, and/or it is radiotherapy if widespread

COEDU-IN Project: an inclusive co-educational project for teaching computational thinking and digital skills at early ages

Learning to program is the new literacy of the 21st century. Computational thinking, closely related to programming, requires thinking and solving problems with different levels of abstraction and is independent of hardware devices. The early childhood education stage provides teachers with the opportunity to lay the foundations for a comprehensive quality education using innovative tools and technologies. Educational robotics in early childhood education becomes a tool that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge to children, playfully, based on the principles of interactivity, social interrelationships, collaborative work, creativity, constructivist and constructionist learning, and a student-centered didactic approach, allowing in turn that student can acquire digital competencies and develop logical and computational thinking in an underlying way. This project explores the current state of teaching and learning computational thinking and programming in early childhood education in an inclusive manner. Moreover, the lack of diversity and inequality is particularly latent in science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Therefore, this work considers this problem and presents an inclusive coeducation approach to this new literacy, eliminating gender stereotypes and extending them to people with Down syndrome and hospitalized minors

Cloud condensation nuclei activation properties of Mediterranean pollen types considering organic chemical composition and surface tension effects

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.119961This work was supported by BioCloud project (RTI2018.101154.A. I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa” and NUCLEUS project (PID2021-128757OB- I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and NextGener- ationEU/PRTR. This work received support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through projects ACT- RIS.IMP (grant agreement No 871115) and ATMO_ACCESS (grant agreement No 101008004), by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through projects ELPIS (PID2020-120015RB-I00) and ACT- RIS-Espa˜na (CGL2017-90884REDT)). By the Junta de Andalucía Excel- lence, project ADPANE (P20-00136), AEROPRE (P-18-RT-3820) and by University of Granada Plan Propio through Visiting Scholars (PPVS2018-04), Singular Laboratory (LS2022-1) programs and Pre- Competitive Research Projects Pre-Greenmitigation3 (PP2022.PP34). Funding for open access charge, University of Granada/CBUA. Andrea Casans is funded by Spanish ministry of research and innovation under the predoctoral program FPI (PRE2019-090827) funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033, FSE “El FSE invierte en tu futuro”. Fernando Rejano is funded by Spanish ministry of universities through predoctoral grant FPU19/05340. Juan Andr´es Casquero-Vera is funded by FJC2021- 047873-I, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and NextGener- ationEU/PRTR. Elisabeth Andrews is funded in part by NOAA cooper- ative agreements NA17OAR4320101. Thanks to the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory for the use of the CCN counterWind-dispersed pollen grains emitted from vegetation are directly injected into the atmosphere being an important source of natural aerosols globally. These coarse particles of pollen can rupture into smaller particles, known as subpollen particles (SPPs), that may act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and affect the climate. In this study, we characterize and investigate the ability of SPPs of 10 Mediterranean-climate pollen types to activate as CCN. A continuous flow CCN counter (CCNC) was used to measure the activation of size-selected (80, 100 and 200 nm dry mobility diameter) particles at different supersaturations (SS). Hygroscopicity parameter (κ) for each SPP type and size has been calculated using κ-K¨ohler theory. Organic chemical speciation and protein content has been determined to further characterize pollen solutions. Furthermore, the surface activity of SPPs has also been investigated by using pendant drop tensiometry. All studied SPP samples show critical supersat- uration (SSCrit) values that are atmospherically relevant SS conditions. Hygroscopicity κ values are in the range characteristic of organic compounds (0.1–0.3). We found that organic speciation and protein content vary substantially among pollen types, with saccharides and fatty acids being the only organic compounds found in all pollen types. A clear relationship between SPP activation and its organic composition was not observed. This study also reveals that all SPPs investigated reduce the surface tension of water at high concentrations but at diluted concentrations (such as those of activation in the CCNC), the water surface tension value is a good approximation in K¨ohler theory. Overall, this analysis points out that pollen particles might be an important source of CCN in the atmosphere and should be considered in aerosol-cloud interactions processes.BioCloud project (RTI2018.101154.A. I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa” and NUCLEUS project (PID2021-128757OB- I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033NextGenerationEU/PRTREuropean Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through projects ACT- RIS.IMP (grant agreement No 871115)European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through project ATMO_ACCESS (grant agreement No 101008004Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through projects ELPIS (PID2020-120015RB-I00) and ACT-RIS-España (CGL2017-90884REDT)Junta de Andalucía Excel- lence, project ADPANE (P20-00136), AEROPRE (P-18-RT-3820)University of Granada Plan Propio through Visiting Scholars (PPVS2018-04), Singular Laboratory (LS2022-1) programs and Pre- Competitive Research Projects Pre-Greenmitigation3 (PP2022.PP34)Funding for open access charge, University of Granada/CBUASpanish ministry of research and innovation under the predoctoral program FPI (PRE2019-090827) funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033Spanish ministry of universities through predoctoral grant FPU19/05340FJC2021- 047873-I, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and NextGenerationEU/PRTRNOAA cooperative agreements NA17OAR432010

Risk Association of TOX3 and MMP7 Gene Polymorphisms with Sporadic Breast Cancer in Mexican Women

Breast cancer (BC) has one of the highest incidences and mortality worldwide. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TOX3 rs3803662 and MMP7 rs1943779 have been associated with susceptibility to BC. In this case-control study, we evaluated the association of rs3803662 (TOX3)/rs1943779 (MMP7) SNPs with clinical features, immunohistochemical reactivity, and risk association with BC in women from northeastern Mexico. We compared 212 BC cases and 212 controls. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood to perform the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. We calculated genotype frequencies, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals. We found that CT (Cytocine-Thymine) and TT (Thymine -Thymine) genotypes, and T alleles of TOX3 rs3803662, were associated with BC risk (p = 0.034, p = 0.011, respectively). SNP TOX3 rs3803662 was associated with positive progesterone receptors (PR) and triple-negative BC (TNBC) but not with estrogen receptor (ER) or HER2 reactivity. CT and TT genotypes (p = 0.006) and T alleles (p = 0.002) of SNP MMP7 rs1943779 were associated with risk of BC. We found that T alleles of TOX3 rs3803662 and MMP7 rs1943779 SNPs are associated with BC risk. These findings contribute to personalized medicine in Mexican women