Reivindicación del glosario epidemiológico en memoria de Evgeny Pavlovsky

Discurso de Ingreso como Académico Correspondient

La vida en un laboratorio de alta seguridad biológica

El trabajo e investigación con ciertos microorganismos puede suponer un gran riesgo tanto para el personal que trabaja con ellos, como para los animales y el medio ambiente. Ello hace necesaria la existencia de laboratorios de alta seguridad biológica que permitan su estudio sin riesgo. En este tipo de laboratorios las medidas de bioseguridad son muy estrictas y ello puede afectar al personal que trabaja a diario en estos centros. Conocer cómo les afectan, en qué medida y por qué ha sido el objetivo principal de nuestro trabajo. Para ello se realizó y diseñó una encuesta que ha permitido recoger la opinión de los trabajadores de tres importantes centros de alta seguridad biológica dedicados a Sanidad Animal y Salud Pública. Tras el análisis de las respuestas se observó que la mayoría de encuestados encuentra factores limitantes para su trabajo en este tipo de centros, si bien estos varían de un centro a otro y no impiden valorar la necesidad de estas medidas.To work and research with some kind of microorganism could suppose a high risk for humans, animals and environment. This fact makes necessary the existence of biosafety laboratories. In this type of centres, high security conditions are very strict and that could affect people who work daily inside it. Knowing how it affects them is the main objective of our study. For that reason we have done a survey to know the impressions of people who work in laboratories of Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) . After analyzing the results of this survey, we could say that working inside BSL-3 implies certain limitations for people who work inside them, but they respect and value the importance of this security conditions

Urinary Biomarkers for Kidney Disease in ATTR Amyloidosis

Aim: The detection and prognosis of nephropathy in transthyretin amyloidosis depends on albuminuria and renal function. Knowing that urinary levels of alpha-1 microglobulin and beta-2 microglobulin reflect tubular dysfunction while urinary alpha-2 macroglobulin implies glomerular damage, we decide investigate the diagnostic value of these markers in the patients with transthyretin amyloidosis. Methods: Serum and urinary samples collected from 30 patients and 11 asymptomatic carriers were tested for alpha-1 microglobulin, beta-2 microglobulin, alpha-2 macroglobulin, albumin, creatinine and cystatin C. Results: Pathological urinary alpha-1 microglobulin was detected in 17 patients, beta-2 microglobulin in 6 and alpha-2 macroglobulin in 5; 5 patients had albuminuria (mg/g creatinine) 30-300 and in 20 patients values >300 were present. Asymptomatic carriers did not present pathological excretion of these biomarkers and albuminuria was >30 in 1 individual. The excretion rates of alpha-1 microglobulin and beta-2 microglobulin were positively correlated with albuminuria (P<0.001), serum creatinine (P<0.05) and cystatin C (P<0.001). Urinary alpha-2 macroglobulin was almost exclusively found in the presence of albuminuria, although their levels do not correlate. Conclusion: Urinary biomarkers emerge as a potential approach to detect renal disease but unexpectedly, urinary alpha-2 macroglobulin was not a marker of the severity of albuminuria

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis associated with type II cryoglobulinaemia in a renal transplant patient with hepatitis C

The most common HCV-related nephropathy is membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), usually in the context of cryoglobulinaemia. The treatment of this entity is not consensual and represents a challenge to clinicians. We report a case of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis associated with cryoglobulinaemia type II in a 46-year-old Caucasian male recipient of a deceased kidney transplant in 2010. His baseline serum creatinine (SCr) was 1.1 mg/dl. After three years post-transplantation, he presented with nephritic syndrome in association with renal function impairment (SCr – 2.1 mg/dl). The laboratory tests revealed positive rheumatoid factor, hypocomplementaemia and a positive cryocrit with type II cryoglobulinaemia. Antinuclear autoantibodies and anti-double stranded DNA antibodies were negative. Despite the presence of anti-HCV antibodies, the viral load remained undetectable. The allograft biopsy showed lesions compatible with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, with staining in the immunofluorescence for granular IgM and C3 and no C4d. He was treated with methylprednisolone pulses followed by oral prednisolone in association with rituximab. Two months after the last dose of rituximab, the SCr improved to 1.27 mg/dl, the proteinuria decreased and serum C3 levels normalized. Cryogloglobulins and rheumatoid factor became negative and HCV RNA remained undetectable. The patient was lost for follow-up. In our case, the treatment with rituximab resulted in a favourable outcome, although a longer follow-up period may be needed to evaluate the clinical response, since other studies reported high relapse rates

Small animal disease surveillance: respiratory disease 2017

This report focuses on surveillance for respiratory disease in companion animals. It begins with an analysis of data from 392 veterinary practices contributing to the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) between January and December 2017. The following section describes canine respiratory coronavirus infections in dogs, presenting results from laboratory-confirmed cases across the country between January 2010 and December 2017. This is followed by an update on the temporal trends of three important syndromes in companion animals, namely gastroenteritis, pruritus and respiratory disease, from 2014 to 2017. A fourth section presents a brief update on Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus in companion animals. The final section summarises some recent developments pertinent to companion animal health, namely eyeworm (Thelazzia callipaeda) infestations in dogs imported to the UK and canine influenza virus in the USA and Canada

Nefrite tubulointersticial associada à mesalazina

Inflammatory bowel disease and its various treatments may affect the kidney in several ways tubulointersticial nephritis is a rare but serious complication of longer-term mesalazine use. There are few cases reported in the literature. We report the first two cases of mesalazine-induced tubulointersticial nephritis, recently diagnosed in our department. The first one refers to a patient with ulcerous colitis and the second one to a patient with Crohn’s disease. Then the authors present a review of literature about the renal involvement in the inflammatory bowel disease. New cases of mesalazine nephrotoxicity should be reported to allow more accurate incidence estimation of this serious adverse effect. Routine monitoring of renal function is simple, inexpensive and allows an early diagnosis of this complicationA doença inflamatória intestinal e as terapêuticas que lhe estão associadas podem afetar o rim de várias formas. A nefrite tubulointersticial é uma complicação rara, mas potencialmente grave inerente à terapêutica com mesalazina. Há alguns casos descritos na literatura. Os autores descrevem os dois primeiros casos de nefrite tubulointersticial associados ao uso de mesalazina, recentemente diagnosticados no nosso Serviço; um deles num doente com colite ulcerosa, outro num doente com doença de Crohn. Apresentam uma revisão da literatura sobre o atingimento renal na doença inflamatória intestinal. Os casos de nefrotoxicidade associada à mesalazina devem continuar a ser descritos para permitir estabelecer uma incidência mais precisa desde efeito adverso. A monitorização da função renal durante o tratamento é simples, barata e pode ajudar a diagnosticar precocemente esta complicaçã

Amiloidose renal: classificação de 102 casos consecutivos

Amyloidoses are a group of heterogeneous diseases classified according to the nature of their causative amyloid proteins. Commonly, paraffin-embedded tissue is used for the typing of amyloid by immunohistochemistry. DNA analysis should always be considered if hereditary amyloidosis is suspected. Since the kidneys are one of the organs that are most commonly involved in amyloid deposition in systemic amyloidoses, we screened 102 consecutive cases with biopsy-proven amyloid disease by immunohistochemistry. DNA analysis was performed to confirm a diagnosis of hereditary amyloidosis. Demographic characteristics, underlying disease and clinical data at the time of renal biopsy were obtained by retrospective review of medical records. The amyloidosis type according to immunohistochemical amyloid protein identification was AA in 60 (58.8%) patients, AL in 21 (20.6%), AFib in four (3.9%), ATTR in two (2.0%), AApoAI in one (1.0%), ALys in one (1.0%) and combined AL and AA in one (1.0%). The type of protein could not be classified in 12 (11.7%) patients: eight (7.8%) because of negative immunohistochemistry and four (3.9%) due to the lack of adequate tissue. DNA analysis confirmed AFib and ATTR cases by the identification of the point mutations FGA p.Glu545Val and TTR p.Met51Val, respectively. Mean age at diagnosis was 53.3 years (49.4 for AA, 63.0 for AL and 53.9 for AFib). Chronic infections were the most frequent disorder associated with AA amyloidosis, mainly tuberculosis, and only one patient had familial AA associated with Muckle-Wells syndrome. Nephrotic syndrome was the most frequent clinical manifestation, independently of the amyloid type. In our series, AA amyloidosis is still the most frequent type of systemic amyloidoses. Six patients had unequivocal hereditary amyloidosis. Immunohistochemistry did not establish the precursor protein in almost 8% of patients; however, an improvement could be obtained using a wider panel of amyloid antibodies.As amiloidoses são um grupo heterogéneo de doenças classificadas de acordo com a composição das suas proteínas amiloidogénicas. Frequentemente, os tecidos preservados em parafina são usados para identificação imunohistoquímica. A análise de ADN deve ser sempre considerada se houver suspeita de amiloidose hereditária. Dado que os rins são um dos órgãos mais frequentemente envolvidos nas amiloidoses sistémicas, procedemos à classificação imunohistoquímica de 102 casos consecutivos de doença amiloide confirmada por biópsia renal. A análise de ADN foi realizada para confirmar o diagnóstico de amiloidose hereditária. As características demográficas, doença subjacente e dados clínicos à data da biópsia foram obtidos pela revisão retrospetiva dos registos médicos. O tipo de amiloidose obtido por identificação imunohistoquímica foi AA em 60 (58,8%) doentes, AL em 21 (20,6%), AFib em quatro (3,9%), ATTR em dois (2,0%), AApoAI em um (2,0%), ALys em um (2,0%), e em um (2,0%) coexistiam os tipos AL e AA. Em 12 (11,7%) não foi identificado o tipo de amiloide: oito (7,8%) por imunohistoquímica negativa e quatro (3,9%) devido a amostra insuficiente. A análise de ADN confirmou os casos AFib e ATTR pela identificação das mutações pontuais FGA p.Glu545Val e TTR p.Met51Val, respetivamente. A média de idade à data do diagnóstico foi 53,3 anos (49,4 para AA, 63,0 para AL e 53,9 para AFib). As infeções crónicas foram a principal causa de amiloidose AA, sobretudo a tuberculose, e foi apenas identificada uma AA familiar associada a síndrome de Muckle-Wells. A síndrome nefrótica foi a manifestação clínica mais frequente, independentemente do tipo de amiloide. Na nossa série, a amiloidose AA continua a ser a amiloidose sistémica mais frequente. Seis doentes tiveram amiloidose hereditária inequívoca. A imunohistoquímica não identificou a proteína precursora em quase 8% dos doentes; contudo, a utilização de um painel de anticorpos mais alargado poderá melhorar o diagnóstico

Hands-on quantum sensing with NV- centers in diamonds

The physical properties of diamond crystals, such as color or electrical conductivity, can be controlled via impurities. In particular, when doped with nitrogen, optically active nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV), can be induced. The center is an outstanding quantum spin system that enables, under ambient conditions, optical initialization, readout, and coherent microwave control with applications in sensing and quantum information. Under optical and radio frequency excitation, the Zeeman splitting of the degenerate states allows the quantitative measurement of external magnetic fields with high sensitivity. This study provides a pedagogical introduction to the properties of the NV centers as well as a step-by-step process to develop and test a simple magnetic quantum sensor based on color centers with significant potential for the development of highly compact multisensor systemsThis research was funded by MICIN-AEI: Grants DETECTAc and EQC2018-005134-P Comunidad de Madrid: Grant TEC2SPACE-CM P2018/NMT-4291, ONR-G: G#N62909-19-1-2053 (DEFROST), MADE-MICINN: PID2019-105552RB-C44. Garantía Juvenil nº201701520868, R.B.-G. would like to thank Comunidad de Madrid for the funding through the grant 2019-T2/IND-1336

Tracheria Troyana (Krapovickas and Nasif, 2011): Redefinition, Environmental Distribution, and Heritage Conservation

The South American caviomorph ichnogenus Tracheria troyana is reevaluated here based on recently discovered specimens that allow a more thorough investigation of footprint taphonomy and ichnotaxonomy. The footprints include detailed autopodium morphology and more complete gait patterns than previously reported. The redefinition of T. troyana involves key aspects as digit impressions of the manus asymmetrically arranged and digit V being the shortest and at times do not print. It generally lacks metacarpal pads, resulting in almost digitigrade impressions and regularly preserved as tridactyl footprints. In the pes imprints, digits have a symmetrical arrangement. Phalangeal and metapodial pad impressions are preserved, occasionally showing the presence of two heel pads. Trackways denote a marked overstep in which the pes impressions are placed in front of the manus. New data about T. troyana environmental distribution shows that typically characterizes overbank facies of anastomosing and meandering fluvial systems, which may be reflecting a habitat preference the producer. Here, we also present new digitized 3D images of the original type material of T. troyana, in order to preserve these materials, which were previously only available for viewing in the field.Versión online anterior a la publicación definitiva del artículo en el año 2018.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse