Different genetic polymorphisms of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) have been associated with the risk and prognosis of autoimmune and infectious diseases. The objectives of this study were to determine ...whether there is an association between HLA genetic polymorphisms and the susceptibility to and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.
Observational and prospective study.
Eight Intensive Care Units (ICU) from 6 hospitals of Canary Islands (Spain).
COVID-19 patients admitted in ICU and healthy subjects.
Determination of HLA genetic polymorphisms.
Mortality at 30 days.
A total of 3886 healthy controls and 72 COVID-19 patients (10 non-survivors and 62 survivor patients at 30 days) were included. We found a trend to a higher rate of the alleles HLA-A*32 (p=0.004) in healthy controls than in COVID-19 patients, and of the alleles HLA-B*39 (p=0.02) and HLA-C*16 (p=0.02) in COVID-19 patients than in healthy controls; however, all these p-values were not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of certain alleles was associated with higher mortality, such as the allele HLA-A*11 after controlling for SOFA (OR=7.693; 95% CI=1.063-55.650; p=0.04) or APACHE-II (OR=11.858; 95% CI=1.524-92.273; p=0.02), the allele HLA-C*01 after controlling for SOFA (OR=11.182; 95% CI=1.053-118.700; p=0.04) or APACHE-II (OR=17.604; 95% CI=1.629-190.211; p=0.02), and the allele HLA-DQB1*04 after controlling for SOFA (OR=9.963; 95% CI=1.235-80.358; p=0.03).
The new finding from our preliminary study of small sample size was that HLA genetic polymorphisms could be associated with COVID-19 mortality; however, studies with a larger sample size before definitive conclusions can be drawn.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Understanding seedling performance across resource gradients is crucial for defining the regeneration niche of plant species under current environmental conditions and for predicting potential ...changes under a global change scenario. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to determine how seedling survival and growth of two evergreen and two deciduous Quercus species vary along gradients of light and soil properties in two Mediterranean forests with contrasting soils and climatic conditions. Half the seedlings were subjected to an irrigation treatment during the first year to quantify the effects on performance of an alteration in the summer drought intensity. Linear and non-linear models were parameterized and compared to identify major resources controlling seedling performance. We found both site-specific and general patterns of regeneration. Strong site-specificity was found in the identity of the best predictors of seedling survival: survival decreased linearly with increasing light (i.e. increasing desiccation risk) in the drier site, whereas it decreased logistically with increasing spring soil water content (i.e. increasing waterlogging risk) in the wetter site. We found strong empirical support for multiple resource limitation at the drier site, the response to light being modulated by the availability of soil resources (water and P). Evidence for regeneration niche partitioning among Quercus species was only found at the wetter site. However, at both sites Quercus species shared the same response to summer drought alleviation through water addition: increased first-year survival but not final survival (i.e. after two years). This suggests that extremely dry summers (i.e. the second summer in the experiment) can cancel out the positive effects of previous wetter summers. Therefore, an increase in the intensity and frequency of summer drought with climate change might cause a double negative impact on Quercus regeneration, due to a general reduction in survival probability and the annulment of the positive effects of (infrequent) 'wet' years. Overall, results presented in this study are a major step towards the development of a mechanistic model of Mediterranean forest dynamics that incorporates the idiosyncrasies and generalities of tree regeneration in these systems, and that allow simulation and prediction of the ecological consequences of resource level alterations due to global change.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Novel strategies based on spray-pyrolysis deposition are proposed to increase the triple-phase boundary (TPB) of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3−δ (LSM) cathodes in contact with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ...electrolyte: (i) nanocrystalline LSM films deposited on as-prepared YSZ surface; (ii) the addition of poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres as pore formers to further increase the porosity of the film cathodes; and (iii) the deposition of LSM by spray pyrolysis on backbones of Zr0.84Y0.16O1.92 (YSZ), Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 (CGO), and Bi1.5Y0.5O3−δ (BYO) previously fixed onto the YSZ. This last method is an alternative to the classical infiltration process with several advantages for large-scale manufacturing of planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), including easier industrial implementation, shorter preparation time, and low cost. The morphology and electrochemical performance of the electrodes are investigated by scanning electron microscopy and impedance spectroscopy. Very low values of area specific resistance are obtained, ranging from 1.4 Ω·cm2 for LSM films deposited on as-prepared YSZ surface to 0.06 Ω-cm2 for LSM deposited onto BYO backbone at a measured temperature of 650 °C. These electrodes exhibit high performance even after annealing at 950 °C, making them potentially suitable for applications in SOFCs at intermediate temperatures.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Higher blood nitrate and nitrite levels have been found in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients than in healthy subjects. The present study explores the potential association between serum ...nitrate levels and mortality in COVID-19 patients.
A prospective observation study was carried out.
Eight Intensive Care Units (ICUs) from 6 hospitals in the Canary Islands (Spain).
COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU.
Determination of serum nitrate levels at ICU admission.
Mortality at 30 days.
Non-surviving (n=11) compared to surviving patients (n=42) showed higher APACHE-II (p<0.001) and SOFA scores (p=0.004), and higher serum nitrate levels (p=0.001). Logistic regression analyses showed serum nitrate levels to be associated to 30-day mortality after controlling for SOFA (OR=1.021; 95%CI=1.006-1.036; p=0.01) or APACHE-II (OR=1.023; 95%CI=1.006-1.041; p=0.01). There were no differences in the area under the curve (AUC) for mortality prediction by serum nitrate levels (AUC=83%; 95%CI=73-92%; p<0.001), APACHE II (AUC=85%; 95%CI=75-96%; p<0.001) and SOFA (AUC=78%; 95%CI=63-92%; p=0.005) based on the DeLong method. The Kaplan-Meier analysis found patients with serum nitrates levels>68.4μmol/l to have a higher mortality rate (hazard ratio=138.8; 95%CI=22.3-863.9; p<0.001).
The main novel finding was the association between serum nitrate levels and mortality in COVID-19 patients controlling for the SOFA or APACHE-II scores, though larger studies are needed to confirm this observation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) requires the iden- tification of reliable predictors of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). For this purpose, we aimed to evaluate the performance of the ...TNBCtype-4 classifier in a cohort of patients with TNBC treated with neoadjuvant carboplatin and docetaxel (TCb).
Patients with TNBC were accrued in a nonrandomized trial of neoadjuvant carboplatin AUC 6 and docetaxel 75 mg/m
for six cycles. Response was evaluated in terms of pathologic complete response (pCR, ypT0/is ypN0) and residual cancer burden by Symmans and colleagues. Lehmann's subtyping was performed using the TNBCtype online tool from RNAseq data, and germline sequencing of a panel of seven DNA damage repair genes was conducted.
Ninety-four out of the 121 patients enrolled in the trial had RNAseq available. The overall pCR rate was 44.7%. Lehmann subtype distribution was 34.0% BL1, 20.2% BL2, 23.4% M, 14.9% LAR, and 7.4% were classified as ER+. Response to NACT with TCb was significantly associated with Lehmann subtype (
= 0.027), even in multivariate analysis including tumor size and nodal involvement, with BL1 patients achieving the highest pCR rate (65.6%), followed by BL2 (47.4%), M (36.4%), and LAR (21.4%). BL1 was associated with a significant younger age at diagnosis and higher ki67 values. Among our 10 germline mutation carriers, 30% were BL1, 40% were BL2, and 30% were M.
TNBCtype-4 is associated with significantly different pCR rates for the different subtypes, with BL1 and LAR displaying the best and worse responses to NACT, respectively.
.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with unknown etiology. Many metabolic alterations occur during ALS progress and can be used as a method of pre-diagnostic and ...early diagnosis. Dyslipidemia is one of the physiological changes observed in numerous ALS patients. The aim of this study is to analyze the possible relationship between the rate of disease progression (functional rating scale (ALS-FRS)) and the plasma lipid levels at the early stage of ALS. A systematic review was carried out in July 2022. The search equation was "Triglycerides AND amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" and its variants. Four meta-analyses were performed. Four studies were included in the meta-analysis. No significant differences were observed between the lipid levels (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol) and the ALS-FRS score at the onset of the disease. Although the number of studies included in this research was low, the results of this meta-analytic study suggest that there is no clear relationship between the symptoms observed in ALS patients and the plasma lipid levels. An increase in research, as well as an expansion of the geographical area, would be of interest.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Assessing the body condition of wild animals is necessary to monitor the health of the population and is critical to defining a framework for conservation actions. Body condition indices (BCIs) are a ...non-invasive and relatively simple means to assess the health of individual animals, useful for addressing a wide variety of ecological, behavioral, and management questions. The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is an endangered subspecies of the West Indian manatee, facing a wide variety of threats from mostly human-related origins. Our objective was to define specific BCIs for the subspecies that, coupled with additional health, genetic and demographic information, can be valuable to guide management decisions. Biometric measurements of 380 wild Antillean manatees captured in seven different locations within their range of distribution were obtained. From this information, we developed three BCIs (BCI
= UG/SL, BCI
= W/SL
, BCI
= W/(SL*UG
)). Linear models and two-way ANCOVA tests showed significant differences of the BCIs among sexes and locations. Although our three BCIs are suitable for Antillean manatees, BCI
is more practical as it does not require information about weight, which can be a metric logistically difficult to collect under particular circumstances. BCI
was significantly different among environments, revealing that the phenotypic plasticity of the subspecies have originated at least two ecotypes-coastal marine and riverine-of Antillean manatees.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Higher blood nitrate and nitrite levels have been found in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients than in healthy subjects. The present study explores the potential association between serum ...nitrate levels and mortality in COVID-19 patients.
A prospective observation study was carried out.
Eight Intensive Care Units (ICUs) from 6 hospitals in the Canary Islands (Spain).
COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU.
Determination of serum nitrate levels at ICU admission.
Mortality at 30 days.
Non-surviving (n=11) compared to surviving patients (n=42) showed higher APACHE-II (p<0.001) and SOFA scores (p=0.004), and higher serum nitrate levels (p=0.001). Logistic regression analyses showed serum nitrate levels to be associated to 30-day mortality after controlling for SOFA (OR=1.021; 95%CI=1.006-1.036; p=0.01) or APACHE-II (OR=1.023; 95%CI=1.006-1.041; p=0.01). There were no differences in the area under the curve (AUC) for mortality prediction by serum nitrate levels (AUC=83%; 95%CI=73-92%; p<0.001), APACHE II (AUC=85%; 95%CI=75-96%; p<0.001) and SOFA (AUC=78%; 95%CI=63-92%; p=0.005) based on the DeLong method. The Kaplan-Meier analysis found patients with serum nitrates levels>68.4μmol/l to have a higher mortality rate (hazard ratio=138.8; 95%CI=22.3-863.9; p<0.001).
The main novel finding was the association between serum nitrate levels and mortality in COVID-19 patients controlling for the SOFA or APACHE-II scores, though larger studies are needed to confirm this observation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A novel electrode preparation method based on the spray-pyrolysis deposition of metal nitrate solutions onto a porous electrolyte scaffold is proposed. This method has been proved with different ...cathode materials, usually used in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, such as La0.8Sr0.2MnO3−δ and La0.6Sr0.4Co1−xFexO3−δ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.8 and 1). The electrode microstructure is composed by two layers; the inner layer is a porous electrolyte scaffold homogeneously coated by cathode nanoparticles, providing an increased number of triple phase boundary sites for oxygen reduction, whereas, the top layer is formed by only cathode nanoparticles and acts mainly as a current collector. Polarization resistance values as low as 0.07 and 1.0 Ω cm2 at 600 and 450 °C, respectively, are obtained at open circuit voltage. This alternative approach has several advantages with respect to the traditional wet infiltration method for large area electrode fabrication, such as higher reproducibility, shorter preparation time in a single thermal deposition step, and easy implementation at industrial scale as a continuous process.
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•Electrode preparation method based on spray-pyrolysis deposition on a porous scaffold.•Polarization resistances as low as 0.07 Ω cm2 were obtained at 600 °C.•The electrodes exhibited high conductivity.•Simple and reproducible method for implementation at industrial scale.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPUK, ZRSKP
(1) Background: Somatic mutations may be connected to the exposome, potentially playing a role in breast cancer's development and clinical outcomes. There needs to be information regarding Latin ...American women specifically, as they are underrepresented in clinical trials and have limited access to somatic analysis in their countries. This study aims to systematically investigate somatic mutations in breast cancer patients from Latin America to gain a better understanding of tumor biology in the region. (2) Methods: We realize a systematic review of studies on breast cancer in 21 Latin American countries using various databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, RedAlyc, Dianlet, and Biblioteca Virtual en Salud. Of 392 articles that fit the criteria, 10 studies have clinical data which can be used to create a database containing clinical and genetic information. We compared mutation frequencies across different breast cancer subtypes using statistical analyses and meta-analyses of proportions. Furthermore, we identified overexpressed biological processes and canonical pathways through functional enrichment analysis. (3) Results: 342 mutations were found in six Latin American countries, with the
and
genes being the most studied mutations. The most common
mutation was H1047R. Functional analysis provided insights into tumor biology and potential therapies. (4) Conclusion: evaluating specific somatic mutations in the Latin American population is crucial for understanding tumor biology and determining appropriate treatment options. Combining targeted therapies may improve clinical outcomes in breast cancer. Moreover, implementing healthy lifestyle strategies in Latin America could enhance therapy effectiveness and clinical outcomes.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
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