Diagnostic Accuracy of Nonmydriatic Fundus Photography for the Detection of Glaucoma in Diabetic Patients

Purpose. To determine the diagnostic accuracy for glaucoma of a set of criteria with nonmydriatic monoscopic fundus photography (NMFP) in diabetics. Methods. Diabetics recruited from a screening program for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic glaucoma patients recruited from our glaucoma unit were included. Any patient with evidence of diabetic retinopathy was excluded. Diabetic patients had to have no visual field defects to be included as controls. Glaucoma patients had to have a glaucomatous field defect in at least one eye to be included. One NMFP was taken per eye for all subjects. These photographs were evaluated by two masked glaucoma specialists for the presence of the following: bilateral cup to disc (C/D) ratio ≥0.6, notching or thinning of the neuroretinal rim, disc hemorrhages, and asymmetry in the C/D ratio between both eyes ≥0.2. This evaluation led to a dichotomous classification: if any of the above criteria was present, the patient was classified as glaucoma. If none were present, the patient was classified as normal. Results. 72 control subjects and 72 glaucoma patients were included. Evaluation of NMFP had a sensitivity of 79.17% and a specificity of 80.56% for specialist 1 and a sensitivity of 72.22% and a specificity of 88.88% for specialist 2 for the detection of glaucoma. The overall accuracy was 79.83% and 80.55%, respectively. Discussion. NMFP evaluation by a glaucoma specialist may be useful for the detection of glaucoma in diabetics

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Sin / Sense

Sexto desafío por la erradicación de la violencia contra las mujeres del Institut Universitari d’Estudis Feministes i de Gènere «Purificación Escribano» de la Universitat Jaume

Ahora / Ara

La cinquena edició del microrelatari per l’eradicació de la violència contra les dones de l’Institut Universitari d’Estudis Feministes i de Gènere «Purificación Escribano» de la Universitat Jaume I vol ser una declaració d’esperança. Aquest és el moment en el qual les dones (i els homes) hem de fer un pas endavant i eliminar la violència sistèmica contra les dones. Ara és el moment de denunciar el masclisme i els micromasclismes començant a construir una societat més igualitària. Cadascun dels relats del llibre és una denúncia i una declaració que ens encamina cap a un món millor

VIII Encuentro de Docentes e Investigadores en Historia del Diseño, la Arquitectura y la Ciudad

Acta de congresoLa conmemoración de los cien años de la Reforma Universitaria de 1918 se presentó como una ocasión propicia para debatir el rol de la historia, la teoría y la crítica en la formación y en la práctica profesional de diseñadores, arquitectos y urbanistas. En ese marco el VIII Encuentro de Docentes e Investigadores en Historia del Diseño, la Arquitectura y la Ciudad constituyó un espacio de intercambio y reflexión cuya realización ha sido posible gracias a la colaboración entre Facultades de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño de la Universidad Nacional y la Facultad de Arquitectura de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba, contando además con la activa participación de mayoría de las Facultades, Centros e Institutos de Historia de la Arquitectura del país y la región. Orientado en su convocatoria tanto a docentes como a estudiantes de Arquitectura y Diseño Industrial de todos los niveles de la FAUD-UNC promovió el debate de ideas a partir de experiencias concretas en instancias tales como mesas temáticas de carácter interdisciplinario, que adoptaron la modalidad de presentación de ponencias, entre otras actividades. En el ámbito de VIII Encuentro, desarrollado en la sede Ciudad Universitaria de Córdoba, se desplegaron numerosas posiciones sobre la enseñanza, la investigación y la formación en historia, teoría y crítica del diseño, la arquitectura y la ciudad; sumándose el aporte realizado a través de sus respectivas conferencias de Ana Clarisa Agüero, Bibiana Cicutti, Fernando Aliata y Alberto Petrina. El conjunto de ponencias que se publican en este Repositorio de la UNC son el resultado de dos intensas jornadas de exposiciones, cuyos contenidos han posibilitado actualizar viejos dilemas y promover nuevos debates. El evento recibió el apoyo de las autoridades de la FAUD-UNC, en especial de la Secretaría de Investigación y de la Biblioteca de nuestra casa, como así también de la Facultad de Arquitectura de la UCC; va para todos ellos un especial agradecimiento

Estudio de polimorfismos genéticos en CYP3A4 y CYP2D6, y su papel en la susceptibilidad a cáncer de mama

Background: Breast cancer is the first cause of death in women in Chile and worldwide. One of the causing factors is the exposition to endogenous and exogenous estrogens which stimulate cell proliferation. Estrogens are metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes, mainly CYP3A4 and CYP2D6, which participate in estradiol hydroxylation to 2-hydroxyestradiol and/ or 4-hydroxyestradiol, facilitating their excretion from the body. Thus, polymorphisms in these enzymes alter the plasma estrogen concentration and its excretion rate. Moreover, CYP3A4*1B polymorphism have been associated to breast cancer risk and also with early menarche. Goal: To establish potential associations between breast cancer risk and CYP3A4*1B and CYP2D6*4 genetic variants in patients compared with healthy volunteers. Methods: The Research was authorized by the Ethical Comitee of Military Hospital of Santiago, Chile. Patients signed an informed consent and genomic DNA was obtained for genotyping of CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 through PCR-RFLP. Results: Obtained genotype frequencies in patients for CYP3A4*1B were: 0.821 for CYP3A4*1/*1; 0.184 for CYP3A4*1/*1B; 0.789 for CYP2D6*1/*1 and 0.211 for CYP2D6*1/*4. No recessive homozygote mutant genotypes were detected in patients (CYP3A4*1B/*1B or CYP2D6*4/*4). enotype frequencies for healthy volunteers were 0.890 for CYP3A4*1/*1; 0.110 for CYP3A4*1/*1B; 0.735 for CYP2D6*1/*1; 0.245 for CYP2D6*1/*4 and 0.019 for CYP2D6*4/*4. It was observed a higher frequency of CYP3A4*1/*1B in patients in relation to healthy volunteers, however the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: This research is a first approach to the study of breast cancer susceptibility associated to CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 variants in Chilean patients. Even though we do not find an statistically significant association, the potential relationship observed for CYP3A4*1B (OR=1,83, IC=0,63-5,22, p= 0,212) should be confirmed in a bigger study, so that these findings could be extrapolated to clinical therapeutics in breast cancer patients in order to favor early detection of the risk to acquire the pathology

Anthropogenic contaminants in freshwater from the northern Antarctic Peninsula region

This study aimed to evaluate the presence of ultraviolet filters (UV-Fs), benzotriazoles, pyrethroids and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in freshwater and wastewater from the northern Antarctic Peninsula region. All water samples analyzed contained UV-Fs residues and high concentrations were detected in anthropogenic impacted sites (< LOD up to 1300 ng/L). Likewise, benzotriazoles were detected in all water samples (< LOQ–920 ng/L). Regarding suspended particulate matter, almost all UV-Fs and all benzotriazoles were measured at concentrations ranging from < LOQ to 33 µg/g dry weight. Pyrethroids were also detected (< LOQ–250 ng/L) and their presence implies the existence of a gateway to the Antarctica Peninsula from other regions. The data confirmed the presence of PFASs (< LOD–7500 ng/L) in this area, in agreement with previous studies. In light of these results, extended monitoring in Antarctica should be carried out to perform a reliable environmental risk assessment leading to propose recommendations to minimize the anthropic impact.This research was supported by projects CTM2011-26372, CTM2013-57119, and CTM2014-57119-R of the Spanish National R+D Plan, and PICTO 2005N36155 of the Secretariat for Science and Technology and the Argentine Antarctic Institute. This study also received funding from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Group “2017 SGR 01404—Water and Soil Quality Unit”) and from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program for research, technological development, and demonstration under Grant Agreement No. 603437. This research is part of POLARCSIC activities. It reflects only the authors’ views. The Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The authors would like to thank the logistical support provided by the Spanish, Argentinean, and Chilean Antarctic programs for conducting the fieldwork. The reviewers and editor are also acknowledged for their contribution to improve the article.Peer reviewe

Estudio de salud de las personas mayores en Extremadura: consumo de fármacos y patologías crónicas más frecuentes

Background: To ascertain the use of drugs among the non-institutionalised elderly population, the factors related to polypharmacy and pinpointing the relationship thereof with chronic diseases. Methods: Cross-sectional epidemiological study by means of door-to-door survey. The population systematically selected totalled 960 individuals age 65-93. The questionnaire included demographic data, self-asessed health condition, quantitative and qualitative aspects of the use of medications, chronic diseases and assesment of functional ability. Results: 91.62% of those surveyed were taking medication, a greater number of females (p<0.002) than males. The medications taken to the greatest extent were blood pressure drugs (42.4%), analgesics (38.7%) and heart drugs (24.8%). Drugs were used to a greater extent among the oldest age group (p<0.0001), those having the lowest educational level (p<0.001), those with impaired eyesight and hearing(p<0001), those having the lowest social status (p<001), more contacts with the health care services (p<0.0001), worse self-assessed health condition (p<0001), a greater number of chronic diseases (p<0.0001) and depressive disorders (p=0.004). The linear regression analysis revealed a positive relationship between the number of medications taken and the number of chronic diseases (r=0.518; p<0.0001). Females report worse health conditions (p<0.05). The variables analyzed with regard to polypharmacy by means of logistic regression are age (over age 75; OR=1.1478), three or more chronic diseases (OR=1.83) and poor self-assessed health condition (OR=1.22). Conclusions: Physical checkups on the elderly must include a review of the medications being taken, especially among those over age 75 who have a worse self-assessed health condition and a larger number of chronic diseases.Fundamento: Determinar el consumo de fármacos en el anciano no institucionalizado, los factores asociados a la polifarmacia e identificar su relación con las patologías crónicas. Métodos: Estudio epidemiológico transversal mediante entrevista directa domiciliaria. La población seleccionada sistemáticamente es de 960 sujetos entre 65 y 93 años. El cuestionario incluía datos demográficos, salud autopercibida, aspectos cualitativos y cuantitativos del consumo de fármacos patologías crónicas, y valoración de capacidad funcional. Resultados: El 91,62% de las personas entrevistadas declaró consumir medicamentos, siendo superior en la mujer (p<0.002). Los más consumidos son los hipotensores (42,4%), analgésicos (38,7%) y cardioterápicos (24,8%). El consumo de fármacos fue superior en el grupo de edad más avanzada (p<0,0001), con nivel de instrucción inferior (p<0,001), con déficit visual y auditivo (p<0,0001), peor situación social (p<0,001), más contactos con los servicios sanitarios (p<0,0001), peor salud autopercibida (p<0,0001), mayor número de enfermedades crónicas (p<0,0001) y con trastornos depresivos (p=0,004). El análisis de regresión lineal mostró una relación positiva entre el número de fármacos consumidos y el número de enfermedades crónicas (r=0,518; p<0,0001). Las mujeres refieren un peor estado de salud (p<0,05). Las variables asociadas a la polifarmacia estudiadas mediante regresión logística son la edad (mayores de 75 años; OR=1,1478), tres o más enfermedades crónicas (OR=1,83) y mala salud autopercibida (OR=1,22). Conclusiones: Es necesario incluir en los exámenes de salud del anciano una revisión del consumo de fármacos, particularmente en mayores de 75 años con peor salud autopercibida con más enfermedades crónicas

Phosphate-Arsenic Interactions in Halophilic Microorganisms of the Microbial Mat from Laguna Tebenquiche: from the Microenvironment to the Genomes

Arsenic (As) is a metalloid present in the earth’s crust and widely distributed in the environment. Due to its high concentrations in the Andean valleys and its chemical similarity with phosphorus (P), its biological role in Andean Microbial Ecosystems (AMEs) has begun to be studied. The AMEs are home to extremophilic microbial communities that form microbial mats, evaporites, and microbialites inhabiting Andean lakes, puquios, or salt flats. In this work, we characterize the biological role of As and the effect of phosphate in AMEs from the Laguna Tebenquiche (Atacama Desert, Chile). Using micro X-ray fluorescence, the distribution of As in microbial mat samples was mapped. Taxonomic and inferred functional profiles were obtained from enriched cultures of microbial mats incubated under As stress and different phosphate conditions. Additionally, representative microorganisms highly resistant to As and able to grow under low phosphate concentration were isolated and studied physiologically. Finally, the genomes of the isolated Salicola sp. and Halorubrum sp. were sequenced to analyze genes related to both phosphate metabolism and As resistance. The results revealed As as a key component of the microbial mat ecosystem: (i) As was distributed across all sections of the microbial mat and represented a significant weight percentage of the mat (0.17 %) in comparison with P (0.40%); (ii) Low phosphate concentration drastically changed the microbial community in microbial mat samples incubated under high salinity and high As concentrations; (iii) Archaea and Bacteria isolated from the microbial mat were highly resistant to arsenate (up to 500 mM), even under low phosphate concentration; (iv) The genomes of the two isolates were predicted to contain key genes in As metabolism (aioAB and arsC/acr3) and the genes predicted to encode the phosphate-specific transport operon (pstSCAB-phoU) are next to the arsC gene, suggesting a functional relationship between these two elements.Fil: Saona Acuña, Luis Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Soria, Mariana Noelia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Durán Toro, V.. Universitat Bremen; AlemaniaFil: Wörmer, L.. Universitat Bremen; AlemaniaFil: Milucka, J.. Max Planck In­sti­tute For Mar­ine Mi­cro­bi­o­logy; AlemaniaFil: Castro Nallar, E.. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Meneses, C.. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Contreras, M.. Centro de Ecologia Aplocada Ltda; ChileFil: Farias, Maria Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; Argentin