Camino hacia el coraje: terapia de constructos personales en un caso de depresión mayor, fibromialgia y otras comorbilidades

Se presenta el caso de Sara, una mujer con fibromialgia, depresión, y otras comorbilidades. A nivel psicológico, una de sus mayores dificultades estriba en poner límites a los demás. Ello perjudica la relación que mantiene tanto con sus seres queridos como con ella misma. Analizando sus constructos personales con la técnica de rejilla y la autocaracterización se observa que vive como incompatibles la satisfacción de sus necesidades y el acceder a las demandas de los demás. Termina por ceder con el fin de preservar para sí misma una imagen de buena persona que resulta central en su sentido de identidad y nuclear en su sistema de constructos. La terapia de constructos personales realizada en un formato breve aborda este dilema y se producen algunos cambios significativos que perduran al seguimiento

An easy synthetic way to exfoliate and stabilize MWCNTs in a thermoplastic pyrrole-containing matrix assisted by hydrogen bonds

This work focuses on the design of an engineered thermoplastic polymer containing pyrrole units in the main chain and hydroxyl pendant groups (A-PPy-OH), which help in achieving nanocomposites containing well-distributed, exfoliated and undamaged MWCNTs. The thermal annealing at 100 °C of the pristine nanocomposite promotes the redistribution of the nanotubes in terms of a percolative network, thus converting the insulating material in a conducting soft matrix (60 μΩ m). This network remains unaltered after cooling to r.t. and successive heating cycles up to 100 °C thanks to the effective stabilization of MWCNTs provided by the functional polymer matrix. Notably, the resistivity-temperature profile is very reproducible and with a negative temperature coefficient of -0.002 K-1, which suggests the potential application of the composite as a temperature sensor. Overall, the industrial scale by which A-PPy-OH can be produced offers a straightforward alternative for the scale-up production of suitable polymers to generate multifunctional nanocomposites

Seasonal and spatial variations of nutrient content, oxygen demand and redox potential in sediments under a floating cage fish farm

Most reviews on environmental impacts of fish farming have emphasised that the most widely known effect is benthic enrichment beneath the sea farms. Marine fish farming is increasing rapidly in the Mediterranean coastal zone. It is characterised by clear water with high transparency, microtidal, oligotrophic and nutrient-poor sediments. The present paper discusses the results obtained in the analysis of the sediments beneath and surrounding the sea farm.En zonas templadas, como el Mediterráneo occidental, los impactos ambientales resultantes de la sedimentación de materia orgánica particulada en el fondo marino bajo las instalaciones de una explotación acuícola parecen estar determinados por factores como la producción, la batimetría, la época del año y la distancia a las dependencias. En este trabajo se evalúan las concentraciones de materia orgánica y de nutrientes y el potencial redox en los sedimentos de los fondos situados bajo las jaulas flotantes de una producción acuícola; los resultados permiten observar que en el transcurso de los meses de verano se producen aumentos en la concentración de nutrientes y en la demanda de oxígeno y un descenso del potencial redox.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Constitució Cooperativa de Consultoria Integral ESS a la Catalunya central

El TFP presenta la iniciativa d'un equip de professionals que tenim la voluntat de crear una cooperativa de treball amb l'objecte social d'una Consultoria Integral en Economia Social i Solidària a la Catalunya Central. Una consultoria adreçada per a les entitats que formen part de l'economia social i solidària (ESS) en el territori i per a les persones que les integren.El TFP es el resultado de una iniciativa de un equipo de profesionales que tenemos la voluntad de crear una cooperativa de trabajo con el objeto social de una Consultoría Integral en Economía Social y Solidaria en la Cataluña Central. Una consultoría con un claro enfoque territorial tanto en el área laboral y económica como en el desarrollo de las habilidades y competencias de los equipos de trabajo que las forman.The TFP is the result of an initiative of a team of professionals who have the will to create a cooperative of work with the social purpose of an Integral Consultancy in Social and Solidarity Economy in Central Catalonia. A consultancy with a clear territorial focus both in the labor and economic area and in the development of skills and competencies of the work teams enclosed this economics systems

Resolución quirúrgica de la colecistitis aguda. ¿Influye el tiempo de evolución?

ResumenIntroducciónLa colecistectomía laparoscópica precoz es nuestra conducta para el tratamiento de la colecistitis aguda; sin embargo, la consulta tardía y el tratamiento postergado por dificultades de acceso hacen que el tiempo de resolución muchas veces sobrepase los 7 días de iniciados los síntomas.Nuestro objetivo es comparar los resultados quirúrgicos entre los pacientes operados antes y después de este periodo.Material y métodosSerie de casos consecutivos de pacientes con diagnóstico de colecistitis aguda operados entre junio de 2013 y diciembre de 2014 en el Servicio de Cirugía del Hospital de Coquimbo. De 358 casos, se excluyen aquellos asociados a colangitis, pancreatitis aguda, ASA ≥4 y cuadro mayor de 30 días. Consecuentemente se incluyen 233 pacientes que se dividen en «grupo precoz» (GP), operados antes del séptimo día de iniciados los síntomas, y «grupo tardío» (GT), operados después de este periodo. Se analizan la presentación de la serie y la asociación entre variables cualitativas y cuantitativas mediante la prueba de χ2 y t de Student, respectivamente.ResultadosEl GP presenta una estadía hospitalaria de 3,9 (±2,0) días y el GT de 7,2 (±5,2), (p=0,0001); el periodo postoperatorio es de 1,9 (±1,6) y de 2,9 (±4,4) días, respectivamente (p=0,055). La tasa de conversión en el GP es del 2,1% y en el GT del 9,7% (p=0,027); la tasa global de complicaciones postoperatorias es del 3,2 y 10,7%, respectivamente (p=0,033).DiscusiónNuestros resultados respaldan la colecistectomía precoz en pacientes con colecistitis aguda. Se pone de manifiesto un problema de gestión, en que la postergación de la resolución quirúrgica empeora los resultados y conlleva mayor riesgo de complicaciones.AbstractIntroductionThe treatment for acute Cholecystitis should be an early Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. However, this resolution often exceed 7 days after the clinical symptoms onset. Mainly, for delayed consultation of the patients, access difficulties and delayed surgical resolution in our hospital.The aim is compare the surgical outcomes of patients that have had a Cholecystectomy before 7 days after the clinical symptoms onset with those operated after this period.Material and methodsBetween June 2013 and December 2014, 358 patients were Cholecystectomy for acute Cholecystitis at the Hospital of Coquimbo. Those associated to Cholangitis, Acute Pancreatitis, ASA ≥4 and Gallbladder Cancer, were excluded; 233 patients were included. They were allocated into two groups according to the treatment timeframe: ‘Early Group’ (EG) for those operated before the seventh day of symptoms onset and ‘Late Group’ (LG) for those operated after this period. A retrospective study was used to collect data demographics, clinical and surgical outcomes. All these factors were compared between the two groups.ResultsThe EG had a hospital stay of 3.9 (±2.0) days and the LG 7.2 (±5.2) (P=.0001); the postoperative stay was 1.9 (±1.6) and 2.9 (±4.4) (P=.055) days, respectively. The conversion rate in the EG was 2.1% and 9.7% in the LT (P=.027); the overall rate of postoperative complications was 3.2% and 10.7% (P=.033), respectively.ConclusionsThe findings support an early Cholecystectomy in patients with acute cholecystitis. There is a management problem in terms of delayed surgical resolution which worsens surgical outcomes and increase morbidity

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) do also cast neutrophil extracellular traps against the apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are web-like structures composed of nuclear DNA decorated with histones and cytoplasmic peptides which antiparasitic properties have not previously been investigated in cetaceans. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) were isolated from healthy bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and stimulated with Neospora caninum tachyzoites and the NETs-agonist zymosan. In vitro interactions of PMN with the tachyzoites resulted in rapid extrusion of NETs. For the demonstration and quantification of cetacean NETs, extracellular DNA was stained by using either Sytox Orange® or Pico Green®. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence analyses demonstrated PMN-derived release of NETs upon exposure to tachyzoites of N. caninum. Co-localization studies of N. caninum induced cetacean NETs proved the presence of DNA adorned with histones (H1, H2A/H2B, H3, H4), neutrophil elastase (NE), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and pentraxin (PTX) confirming the molecular properties of mammalian NETosis. Dolphin-derived N. caninum-NETosis were efficiently suppressed by DNase I and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) treatments. Our results indicate that cetacean-derived NETs represent an ancient, conserved and relevant defense effector mechanism of the host innate immune system against N. caninum and probably other related neozoan parasites circulating in the marine environment

Age validation in Octopus vulgaris beaks across full ontogenetic range. Beaks as recorders of live-events in octopuses

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Synergy between medical informatics and bioinformatics: facilitating genomic medicine for future health care

Medical Informatics (MI) and Bioinformatics (BI) are two interdisciplinary areas located at the intersection between computer science and medicine and biology, respectively. Historically, they have been separated and only occasionally have researchers of both disciplines collaborated. The completion of the Human Genome Project has brought about in this post genomic era the need for a synergy of these two disciplines to further advance in the study of diseases by correlating essential genotypic information with expressed phenotypic information. Biomedical Informatics (BMI) is the emerging technology that aims to put these two worlds together in the new rising genomic medicine. In this regard, institutions such as the European Commission have recently launched several initiatives to support a new combined research agenda, based on the potential for synergism of both disciplines. In this paper we review the results the BIOINFOMED study one of these projects funded by the E

No silver bullet for digital soil mapping: country-specific soil organic carbon estimates across Latin America.

Country-specific soil organic carbon (SOC) estimates are the baseline for the Global SOC Map of the Global Soil Partnership (GSOCmap-GSP). This endeavor is key to explaining the uncertainty of global SOC estimates but requires harmonizing heterogeneous datasets and building country-specific capacities for digital soil mapping (DSM).We identified country-specific predictors for SOC and tested the performance of five predictive algorithms for mapping SOC across Latin America. The algorithms included support vector machines (SVMs), random forest (RF), kernel-weighted nearest neighbors (KK), partial least squares regression (PL), and regression kriging based on stepwise multiple linear models (RK). Country-specific training data and SOC predictors (5 x 5 km pixel resolution) were obtained from ISRIC - World Soil Information. Temperature, soil type, vegetation indices, and topographic constraints were the best predictors for SOC, but country-specific predictors and their respective weights varied across Latin America. We compared a large diversity of country-specific datasets and models, and were able to explain SOC variability in a range between ~ 1 and ~ 60 %, with no universal predictive algorithm among countries. A regional (n = 11 268 SOC estimates) ensemble of these five algorithms was able to explain ~ 39% of SOC variability from repeated 5-fold cross-validation.We report a combined SOC stock of 77.8 +- 43.6 Pg (uncertainty represented by the full conditional response of independent model residuals) across Latin America. SOC stocks were higher in tropical forests (30 +- 16.5 Pg) and croplands (13 +- 8.1 Pg). Country-specific and regional ensembles revealed spatial discrepancies across geopolitical borders, higher elevations, and coastal plains, but provided similar regional stocks (77.8 +- 42.2 and 76.8 +- 45.1 Pg, respectively). These results are conservative compared to global estimates (e.g., SoilGrids250m 185.8 Pg, the Harmonized World Soil Database 138.4 Pg, or the GSOCmap-GSP 99.7 Pg). Countries with large area (i.e., Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru) and large spatial SOC heterogeneity had lower SOC stocks per unit area and larger uncertainty in their predictions. We highlight that expert opinion is needed to set boundary prediction limits to avoid unrealistically high modeling estimates. For maximizing explained variance while minimizing prediction bias, the selection of predictive algorithms for SOC mapping should consider density of available data and variability of country-specific environmental gradients. This study highlights the large degree of spatial uncertainty in SOC estimates across Latin America. We provide a framework for improving country-specific mapping efforts and reducing current discrepancy of global, regional, and country-specific SOC estimates