Inhibition of rotavirus ECwt infection in ICR suckling mice by N-acetylcysteine, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors

Live attenuated vaccines have recently been introduced for preventing rotavirus disease in children. However, alternative strategies for prevention and treatment of rotavirus infection are needed mainly in developing countries where low vaccine coverage occurs. In the present work, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), ascorbic acid (AA), some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists were tested for their ability to interfere with rotavirus ECwt infectivity as detected by the percentage of viral antigen-positive cells of small intestinal villi isolated from ECwt-infected ICR mice. Administration of 6 mg NAC/kg every 8 h for three days following the first diarrhoeal episode reduced viral infectivity by about 90%. Administration of AA, ibuprofen, diclofenac, pioglitazone or rosiglitazone decreased viral infectivity by about 55%, 90%, 35%, 32% and 25%, respectively. ECwt infection of mice increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2, ERp57, Hsc70, NF-κB, Hsp70, protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) and PPARγ in intestinal villus cells. NAC treatment of ECwt-infected mice reduced Hsc70 and PDI expression to levels similar to those observed in villi from uninfected control mice. The present results suggest that the drugs tested in the present work could be assayed in preventing or treating rotaviral diarrhoea in children and young animals.

Primera història d'Esther : El testament de l'idioma de Salvador Espriu?

Estudi sobre els elements que han portat a considerar l'obra de teatre 'Primera història d'Esther' de Salvador Espriu un homenatge a la llengua catalana.

Estudio epidemiológico de carcinoma escamoso de piel en el área de Barcelonés Nord.

El carcinoma escamós de pell representa una de les neoplàsies més freqüents de la raça blanca. En aquest treball es pretén estimar la seva incidència acumulada a l'àrea del Barcelonès Nord. Altres objectius són conèixer la distribució per edat i sexe d'aquesta neoplàsia i la freqüència d'afectació de diferents àrees corporals. Mitjançant una revisió retrospectiva del registre hospitalari d'anatomia patològica de l'Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol es van recollir tots els casos incidents de carcinoma escamós de pell diagnosticats en el Barcelonès Nord durant un període de 12 mesos. La taxa d'incidència estandarditzada per a la població mundial ha estat de 17,9 / 100.000 habitants-any. Així mateix, es va trobar una afectació major del sexe masculí i de les àrees corporals exposades als raigs ultraviolats.

Dibuixant paisatges als núvols

Sobre els Paisatges sonors de la ciutat

Contrapuntos de la invención

Un instrumento musical implica la presencia de un registro sonoro que afecta tanto a la organización de los sonidos, silencios y ruidos, como a la disposición corporal que con él se va forjando. Desde esta consideración, la organización de la música llevada a cabo con las tecnologías eléctricas y electrónicas supone una profunda modificación de ambos aspectos. La llegada de la electricidad implica una tripledislocación: respecto a la transmisión de lo sonoro, a su posibilidad de reproducción y a la escucha. Estas dislocaciones son puestas en relación con invenciones que, desde el órgano de Ctesibios hasta el clavecín ocular de Castel, nos dibujan un marco en el que música, técnica, sensibilidad y sistemaeconómico-social, tejen sus nexos. A lo largo de este recorrido se trazan lo que se ha denominado contrapuntos de la invención, que pueden tomar en las figuras de J.S. Bach y de J. Cage sus ejemplos más prominentes

Association of irisin with fat mass, resting energy expenditure, and daily activity in conditions of extreme body mass index.

FNDC5/irisin has been recently postulated as beneficial in the treatment of obesity and diabetes because it is induced in muscle by exercise, increasing energy expenditure. However, recent reports have shown that WAT also secretes irisin and that circulating irisin is elevated in obese subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate irisin levels in conditions of extreme BMI and its correlation with basal metabolism and daily activity. The study involved 145 female patients, including 96 with extreme BMIs (30 anorexic (AN) and 66 obese (OB)) and 49 healthy normal weight (NW). The plasma irisin levels were significantly elevated in the OB patients compared with the AN and NW patients. Irisin also correlated positively with body weight, BMI, and fat mass. The OB patients exhibited the highest REE and higher daily physical activity compared with the AN patients but lower activity compared with the NW patients. The irisin levels were inversely correlated with daily physical activity and directly correlated with REE. Fat mass contributed to most of the variability of the irisin plasma levels independently of the other studied parameters. Conclusion. Irisin levels are influenced by energy expenditure independently of daily physical activity but fat mass is the main contributing factor.

Daptomycin plus fosfomycin versus daptomycin monotherapy in treating MRSA: protocol of a multicentre, randomised, phase III trial.

INTRODUCTION Despite the availability of new antibiotics such as daptomycin, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia continues to be associated with high clinical failure rates. Combination therapy has been proposed as an alternative to improve outcomes but there is a lack of clinical studies. The study aims to demonstrate that combination of daptomycin plus fosfomycin achieves higher clinical success rates in the treatment of MRSA bacteraemia than daptomycin alone. METHODS AND ANALYSIS A multicentre open-label, randomised phase III study. Adult patients hospitalised with MRSA bacteraemia will be randomly assigned (1:1) to group 1: daptomycin 10 mg/kg/24 h intravenous; or group 2: daptomycin 10 mg/kg/24 h intravenous plus fosfomycin 2 gr/6 g intravenous. The main outcome will be treatment response at week 6 after stopping therapy (test-of-cure (TOC) visit). This is a composite variable with two values: Treatment success: resolution of clinical signs and symptoms (clinical success) and negative blood cultures (microbiological success) at the TOC visit. Treatment failure: if any of the following conditions apply: (1) lack of clinical improvement at 72 h or more after starting therapy; (2) persistent bacteraemia (positive blood cultures on day 7); (3) therapy is discontinued early due to adverse effects or for some other reason based on clinical judgement; (4) relapse of MRSA bacteraemia before the TOC visit; (5) death for any reason before the TOC visit. Assuming a 60% cure rate with daptomycin and a 20% difference in cure rates between the two groups, 103 patients will be needed for each group (α:0.05, ß: 0.2). Statistical analysis will be based on intention to treat, as well as per protocol and safety analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION The protocol was approved by the Spanish Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (AEMPS). The sponsor commits itself to publishing the data in first quartile peer-review journals within 12 months of the completion of the study. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT01898338.

Pandemic 2009 A(H1N1) infection requiring hospitalization of elderly Spanish adults.

To describe the clinical presentation and prognosis of elderly adults hospitalized with pandemic 2009 A(H1N1) influenza infection and to compare these data with those of younger patients. DESIGN: Prospective, observational, multicenter study. SETTING: Thirteen hospitals in Spain. PARTICIPANTS: Adults admitted to the hospital with confirmed pandemic 2009 A(H1N1) influenza infection. MEASUREMENTS: Demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, and outcome variables. RESULTS: Between June 12 and November 10, 2009, 585 adults with confirmed 2009 A(H1N1) influenza were hospitalized, of whom 50 (8.5%) were aged 65 and older (median age 72, range 65-87). Older adults (≥ 65) were more likely to have associated comorbidities (88.0% vs 51.2%; P < .001), primarily chronic pulmonary diseases (46.0% vs 27.3%; P < .001). Lower respiratory tract symptoms and signs such as dyspnea (60.0% vs 45.6%) and wheezing (46.0% vs 27.8%; P = .007) were also more common in these elderly adults, although pulmonary infiltrates were present in just 14 (28.0%) of the older adults, compared with 221 (41.3%) of the younger adults (P = .06). Multilobar involvement was less frequent in elderly adults with pulmonary infiltrates than younger adults with pulmonary infiltrates (21.4% vs 60.0%; P = .05). Rhinorrhea (4.0% vs 21.9%; P = .003), myalgias (42.0% vs 59.1%; P = .01), and sore throat (14.0% vs 29.2%; P = .02) were more frequent in younger adults. Early antiviral therapy (<48 hours) was similar in the two groups (34.0% vs 37.9%; P = .58). Two older adults (4.0%) died during hospitalization, compared with 11 (2.1%) younger adults (P = .30). CONCLUSION: Elderly adults with 2009 A(H1N1) influenza had fewer viral-like upper respiratory symptoms than did younger adults. Pneumonia was more frequent in younger adults. No significant differences were observed in hospital mortality.

Central corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, and degree of myopia in an adult myopic population aged 20 to 40 years in southeast Spain: determination and relationships.

Objective: To determine the values of, and study the relationships among, central corneal thickness (CCT), intraocular pressure (IOP), and degree of myopia (DM) in an adult myopic population aged 20 to 40 years in Almeria (southeast Spain). To our knowledge this is first study of this kind in this region. Methods: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was done in which a sample of 310 myopic patients (620 eyes) aged 20 to 40 years was selected by gender- and age-stratified sampling, which was proportionally fixed to the size of the population strata for which a 20% prevalence of myopia, 5% epsilon, and a 95% confidence interval were hypothesized. We studied IOP, CCT, and DM and their relationships by calculating the mean, standard deviation, 95% confidence interval for the mean, median, Fisher’s asymmetry coefficient, range (maximum, minimum), and the Brown-Forsythe’s robust test for each variable (IOP, CCT, and DM). Results: In the adult myopic population of Almeria aged 20 to 40 years (mean of 29.8), the mean overall CCT was 550.12 μm. The corneas of men were thicker than those of women (P = 0.014). CCT was stable as no significant differences were seen in the 20- to 40-year-old subjects’ CCT values. The mean overall IOP was 13.60 mmHg. Men had a higher IOP than women (P = 0.002). Subjects over 30 years (13.83) had a higher IOP than those under 30 (13.38) (P = 0.04). The mean overall DM was −4.18 diopters. Men had less myopia than women (P < 0.001). Myopia was stable in the 20- to 40-year-old study population (P = 0.089). A linear relationship was found between CCT and IOP (R2 = 0.152, P ≤ 0.001). CCT influenced the IOP value by 15.2%. However no linear relationship between DM and IOP, or between CCT and DM, was found. Conclusions: CCT was found to be similar to that reported in other studies in different populations. IOP tends to increase after the age of 30 and is not accounted for by alterations in CCT values.

Rituximab in treatment-resistant CIDP with antibodies against paranodal proteins.

OBJECTIVE To describe the response to rituximab in patients with treatment-resistant chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) with antibodies against paranodal proteins and correlate the response with autoantibody titers. METHODS Patients with CIDP and IgG4 anti-contactin-1 (CNTN1) or anti-neurofascin-155 (NF155) antibodies who were resistant to IV immunoglobulin and corticosteroids were treated with rituximab and followed prospectively. Immunocytochemistry was used to detect anti-CNTN1 and anti-NF155 antibodies and ELISA with human recombinant CNTN1 and NF155 proteins was used to determine antibody titers. RESULTS Two patients had a marked improvement; another patient improved slightly after 10 years of stable, severe disease; and the fourth patient had an ischemic stroke unrelated to treatment and was lost to follow-up. Autoantibodies decreased in all patients after rituximab treatment. CONCLUSIONS Rituximab treatment is an option for patients with CIDP with IgG4 anti-CNTN1/NF155 antibodies who are resistant to conventional therapies. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE This study provides Class IV evidence that rituximab is effective for patients with treatment-resistant CIDP with IgG4 anti-CNTN1 or anti-NF155 antibodies.

L'Església de Santa Helena de Rodes: recerca arqueològica i restauració arquitectònica

Descripció de l’estudi arqueològic i la restauració arquitectònica de l’Església de Santa Helena o Santa Creu de Rodes realitzats a principis dels anys 90

Formación de nanoestructuras de silicio por evaporación térmica y pulverización catódica. Intento de crecimiento de nanohilos de silicio

El proyecto tiene como objetivo estudiar las posibilidades de síntesis de nanohilos de silicio mediante evaporación térmica y pulverización catódica. Con estas técnicas se pretende lograr un crecimiento aditivo en un escenario VLS (Vapor Liquid Solid). Se han utilizado obleas de silicio recubiertas de oro o aluminio como catalizador, sometidas a un tratamiento térmico para lograr una aleación eutéctica. Se han realizado 19 ensayos variando los parámetros experimentales, y se han obtenido 44 muestras diferentes, caracterizadas mediante SEM. Después de un estudio exhaustivo no se ha podido hacer crecer nanohilos de silicio, confirmando la dificultad de su obtención con las técnicas propuestas.