Primary care (PC) professionals' knowledge about alcohol use has been identified as one of the barriers PC providers face in their clinic. Both PC professionals' level of training and attitude are ...crucial in the clinical practice regarding alcohol use.
To evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices of Spanish PC physicians and nurses towards alcohol use.
An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, multi-center study.
Location: PC centers of the Spanish National Health System (NHS). Participants: PC physicians and nurses selected randomly from health care centers, and by sending an e-mail to semFYC and SEMERGEN members. Healthcare providers completed an online survey on knowledge, attitude, and follow-up recommendations for reducing alcohol intake. A descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate statistical analysis was conducted (p<0.05).
Participants: 1,760 healthcare providers completed the survey (75.6% 95% CI 73.5-77.6 family physicians; 11.4% 95% CI 9.9-12.9 medical residents; and 12.5% 95% CI 10.9-14.1 nurses), with a mean age of 44.7 (SD 11.24, range: 26-64, 95% CI: 47.2-48.2). Knowledge was higher in family physicians (p<0.001), older professionals (Spearman's r = 0.11, p<0.001), and resident trainers (p<0.001). The PC professional most likely to provide advice for reducing alcohol use was: a nurse (p <0.001), female (p = 0.010), between 46 and 55 years old (p <0.001).
PC providers' knowledge and preventive practices regarding alcohol use are scarce, hence specific training strategies to increase their knowledge and improve their attitude and skills with regard to this health problem should be considered a healthcare policy priority.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this work we report synthetic adhesins (SAs) enabling the rational design of the adhesion properties of E. coli. SAs have a modular structure comprising a stable β-domain for outer membrane ...anchoring and surface-exposed immunoglobulin domains with high affinity and specificity that can be selected from large repertoires. SAs are constitutively and stably expressed in an E. coli strain lacking a conserved set of natural adhesins, directing a robust, fast, and specific adhesion of bacteria to target antigenic surfaces and cells. We demonstrate the functionality of SAs in vivo, showing that, compared to wild type E. coli, lower doses of engineered E. coli are sufficient to colonize solid tumors expressing an antigen recognized by the SA. In addition, lower levels of engineered bacteria were found in non-target tissues. Therefore, SAs provide stable and specific adhesion capabilities to E. coli against target surfaces of interest for diverse applications using live bacteria.
Mobile LiDAR System is an emerging technology that combines multiple sensors. Active sensors, together with Inertial and Global Navigation System, are synchronized on a mobile platform to produce an ...accurate and precise geospatial 3D point cloud. They allow obtaining a large amount of georeferenced 3D information in a fast and efficient way, which can be used in several applications such as the 3D recording and reconstruction of complex urban areas and/or landscapes. In this study the Mobile LiDAR System is applied in the field of Cultural Heritage aiming to evaluate its performance with the purpose to document, divulgate, or to develop an architectural analysis. This study was focused on the Medieval Wall of Avila (Spain) and, specifically, the performed accuracy tests were applied in the “Alcazar” gate (National Monument from 1884). The Mobile LiDAR System is then compared to the most commonly employed active sensors (Terrestrial Laser Scanner) for large Cultural Heritage sites in regard to time, accuracy and resolution of the point cloud. The discrepancies between both technologies are established comparing directly the 3D point clouds generated, highlighting the errors affecting the architectural structures. Consequently, and based on a detailed geometrical analysis, an optimization methodology is proposed, establishing a segmented and classified cluster for the structures. Furthermore, three main clusters are settled, according to the curvature: (i) planar or low curvature; (ii) cylindrical, mild transitions and medium curvature; and (iii) the abrupt transitions of high curvature. The obtained 3D point clouds in each cluster are analyzed and optimized, considering the reference spatial sampling, according to a confidence interval and the feature curvature. The presented results suggest that Mobile LiDAR System is an optimal approach, allowing a high-speed data acquisition and providing an adequate accuracy for large Cultural Heritage sites.
Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is an endocrine organ adjacent to coronary arteries and myocardium without anatomy barriers. Locally produced adipokines may reflect or affect to cardiovascular ...physiology and pathology. Our aim was to study the protein expression profiles of EAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) to identify local candidate molecules characterizing EAT in patients with cardiovascular disease. EAT and SAT samples were collected from 55 patients undergoing heart surgery. Proteins from these tissues were separated by two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis, and differences between them were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF spectra. Differences in protein levels were further investigated by real-time RT-PCR and Western blots, and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in EAT and SAT was evaluated by nitroblue tetrazolium chloride assays. ROS production was higher in EAT than SAT. We have found mRNA differences for catalase, glutathione S-transferase P, and protein disulfide isomerase, and 2D Western blots additionally showed post-translational differences for phosphoglycerate mutase 1; all four are related to oxidative stress pathways. EAT suffers greater oxidative stress than SAT in patients with cardiovascular diseases and exhibits associated proteomic differences that suggest the possibility of its association with myocardial stress in these patients.
Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is a metal organic framework with exceptional intrinsic properties, high tunability, cost effectiveness, and producibility, which has boosted the research ...development of the field. ZIF-8-based materials have shown high capabilities for multiple purposes as catalysts, capacitors, electrodes, drug delivery systems, or adsorption/separation membranes. Herein, we report the synergistic combination of ZIF-8, plasmonic nanoparticles, and rationally designed protein adaptors and antibodies for fabricating novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tags with enhanced sensing capabilities. The SERS tags consist of Au@Ag core–shell nanorods individually encapsulated within a multifunctional ZIF-8 matrix encoded with Raman reporters. While the role of the plasmonic core is to enhance the Raman, the ZIF-8 traps the Raman active molecules and, more importantly, facilitates the active targeting of the SERS tag surface through the modular assembly with conventional (i.e., immunoglobulins) and recombinant antibodies (i.e., nanobodies) mediated by the specific interaction of Zn2+ with polyhistidine-tagged protein G and SpyCatcher. Evidence of the capabilities of the Au@Ag@ZIF-8 nanotags for the SERS detection of EGFR and CD44 cell surface receptors in vitro illustrates the potential of these optical nanoprobes for imaging and multiplex biodetection. The reported modular assembly approach for the functionalization of ZIF-8 SERS nanotags with different classes of antibodies based on polyhistidine-tagged peptides and protein–protein interactions can not only be applied to the ever-increasing number of reported MOFs structures but also can be further exploited as a universal means for the functionalization of other transition metal surfaces.
Opening of intermediate‐conductance calcium‐activated potassium channels (KCa3.1) produces membrane hyperpolarization in the vascular endothelium. Here, we studied the ability of two new ...KCa3.1‐selective positive‐gating modulators, SKA‐111 and SKA‐121, to (1) evoke porcine endothelial cell KCa3.1 membrane hyperpolarization, (2) induce endothelium‐dependent and, particularly, endothelium‐derived hyperpolarization (EDH)‐type relaxation in porcine coronary arteries (PCA) and (3) influence coronary artery tone in isolated rat hearts. In whole‐cell patch‐clamp experiments on endothelial cells of PCA (PCAEC), KCa currents evoked by bradykinin (BK) were potentiated ≈7‐fold by either SKA‐111 or SKA‐121 (both at 1 μM) and were blocked by a KCa3.1 blocker, TRAM‐34. In membrane potential measurements, SKA‐111 and SKA‐121 augmented bradykinin‐induced hyperpolarization. Isometric tension measurements in large‐ and small‐calibre PCA showed that SKA‐111 and SKA‐121 potentiated endothelium‐dependent relaxation with intact NO synthesis and EDH‐type relaxation to BK by ≈2‐fold. Potentiation of the BK response was prevented by KCa3.1 inhibition. In Langendorff‐perfused rat hearts, SKA‐111 potentiated coronary vasodilation elicited by BK. In conclusion, our data show that positive‐gating modulation of KCa3.1 channels improves BK‐induced membrane hyperpolarization and endothelium‐dependent relaxation in small and large PCA as well as in the coronary circulation of rats. Positive‐gating modulators of KCa3.1 could be therapeutically useful to improve coronary blood flow and counteract impaired coronary endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease.
Objective
Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) in coronary artery disease is insulin resistant and has a proinflammatory profile. This study examined the regulation of EAT by exogenous omentin and its ...consequence on vascular cells.
Methods
Stromal vascular cells (SC) of EAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) from patients who underwent heart surgery were cultured and exposed to adipogenic factors with or without omentin. Proinflammatory cytokine regulation by omentin was analyzed in SC and mature adipocytes. Glucose uptake by EAT and SAT explants was determined after insulin, omentin, or combined treatment. Human vascular cells were exposed to secretomes of SC, with and without omentin treatment. Migration of smooth muscle cells and expression of adhesion molecules were determined by wound healing or real‐time polymerase chain reaction, respectively.
Results
Omentin treatment raised adipogenesis‐induced adiponectin levels on SC of EAT and reduced TNF‐α expression levels (0.58 ± 0.14‐fold change; P = 0.034) in mature adipocytes. Omentin improved the insulin activity of EAT and SAT explants from cardiovascular disease patients. Finally, secretomes of SC under omentin treatment reduced the migration of smooth muscle cells.
Conclusions
Exogenous omentin might support a cardioprotective role through its effect on EAT regarding glucose uptake, anti‐inflammatory response, and its paracrine role on smooth muscle cells.
Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) are widely used in critical infrastructures to support the essential services of society. Therefore, their protection against terrorist activities, natural ...disasters, and cyber threats is critical. Diverse cyber attack detection systems have been proposed over the years, in which each proposal has applied different steps and methods. However, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding methodologies to detect cyber attacks in ICS scenarios. The lack of such methodologies prevents researchers from being able to accurately compare proposals and results. In this work, we present a Methodology for Anomaly Detection in Industrial Control Systems (MADICS) to detect cyber attacks in ICS scenarios, which is intended to provide a guideline for future works in the field. MADICS is based on a semi-supervised anomaly detection paradigm and makes use of deep learning algorithms to model ICS behaviors. It consists of five main steps, focused on pre-processing the dataset to be used with the machine learning and deep learning algorithms; performing feature filtering to remove those features that do not meet the requirements; feature extraction processes to obtain higher order features; selecting, fine-tuning, and training the most appropriate model; and validating the model performance. In order to validate MADICS, we used the popular Secure Water Treatment (SWaT) dataset, which was collected from a fully operational water treatment plant. The experiments demonstrate that, using MADICS, we can achieve a state-of-the-art precision of 0.984 (as well as a recall of 0.750 and F1-score of 0.851), which is above the average of other works, proving that the proposed methodology is suitable for use in real ICS scenarios.
Colombia is currently the world's main recipient country for Venezuelan migrants, and women represent a high proportion of them. This article presents the first report of a cohort of Venezuelan ...migrant women entering Colombia through Cúcuta and its metropolitan area. The study aimed to describe the health status and access to healthcare services among Venezuelan migrant women in Colombia with irregular migration status, and to analyze changes in those conditions at a one-month follow-up.
We carried out a longitudinal cohort study of Venezuelan migrant women, 18 to 45 years, who entered Colombia with an irregular migration status. Study participants were recruited in Cúcuta and its metropolitan area. At baseline, we administered a structured questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, migration history, health history, access to health services, sexual and reproductive health, practice of early detection of cervical cancer and breast cancer, food insecurity, and depressive symptoms. The women were again contacted by phone one month later, between March and July 2021, and a second questionnaire was applied.
A total of 2,298 women were included in the baseline measurement and 56.4% could be contacted again at the one-month follow-up. At the baseline, 23.0% of the participants reported a self-perceived health problem or condition in the past month and 29.5% in the past 6 months, and 14.5% evaluated their health as fair or poor. A significant increase was found in the percentage of women who reported a self-perceived health problem during the past month (from 23.1% to 31.4%; p<0.01); as well as in the share who reported moderate, severe, or extreme difficulty working or performing daily chores (from 5.5% to 11.0%; p = 0.03) and who rated their health as fair (from 13.0% to 31.2%; p<0.01). Meanwhile, the percentage of women with depressive symptoms decreased from 80.5% to 71.2% (p<0.01).
This report presents initial information on the health status of Venezuelan migrant women in Colombia, and is a starting point for further longer longitudinal follow-ups to assess changes over time in health conditions.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Health professionals' training is a key element to address unhealthy alcohol use in Primary Care (PC). Education about alcohol use can be effective in improving PC provider's knowledge and skills ...addressing alcohol-related problems. The aim of the study was to evaluate the training of health professionals to address unhealthy alcohol use in PC.
An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, multicenter study was performed.
PC centres of the Spanish National Health System (SNHS).
Family physicians, residents and nurses completed an online questionnaire that inquired about their training (none, basic, medium or advanced), knowledge and preventive practices aimed at reducing unhealthy alcohol use. The study population was recruited via random sampling, stratified by the regions of the SNHS's PC centre, and by email invitation to members of two Spanish scientific societies of Family Medicine.
A total of 1760 professionals participated in the study. Sixty-seven percent (95% CI: 67.5-71.8) reported not having received specific training to address unhealthy alcohol use, 30% (95% CI: 27.4-31.7) reported having received basic training, and 3% (95% CI: 2.3-4.0) medium/advanced training. The training received was greater in younger providers (p < 0.001) who participated in the PAPPS (Preventive Activities and Health Promotion Programme) (p < 0.001). Higher percentages of providers with intermediate or advanced training reported performing screening for unhealthy alcohol use (p < 0.001), clinical assessment of alcohol consumption (p < 0.001), counselling of patients to reduce their alcohol intake (p < 0.001) or to abstain, in the cases of pregnant women and drivers (p < 0.001).
Our study reveals a low level of training among Spanish PC providers to address unhealthy alcohol use. A higher percentage of screening, clinical assessment and counselling interventions aimed at reducing unhealthy alcohol use was reported by health professionals with an intermediate or advanced level of training.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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