Neisseria meningitidis, a gram-negative diplococcus, is typically an asymptomatic coloniser of the oropharynx and nasopharynx. Passage of N. meningitidis into the bloodstream can cause invasive ...meningococcal disease (IMD), a potentially life-threatening illness with rapid onset that generally presents as meningitis, septicemia or both. Serogroup W IMD has been increasing in prevalence in recent years, and observations suggest that it may present with atypical signs and symptoms. Herein, a literature search was performed to identify trends in atypical serogroup W IMD presentation in order to review those that are most prevalent. Findings indicate that the most prevalent atypical presentations of serogroup W IMD include acute gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, septic arthritis and bacteremic pneumonia or severe upper respiratory tract infection, notably epiglottitis. Atypical clinical presentation is associated with higher case fatality rates and can lead to misdiagnoses. Such risks highlight the need for clinicians to consider IMD in their differential diagnoses of patients with acute GI symptoms, septic arthritis or bacteremic pneumonia, primarily in regions where serogroup W is prevalent.
The electrosynthesis and characterization of polypyrrole(PPy)/stainless steel electrodes decorated with gold nanoparticles and the performance of the composite electrode for sensing applications is ...described. PPy films were grown in potassium perchlorate and sodium salicylate solutions under comparable electropolymerization conditions. Polymer films prepared in the presence of perchlorate ions exhibited worm-like structures, whereas columnar structures were obtained in salicylate-containing solutions. Voltammetric response of PPy films prepared in salicylate solutions was more reversible. PPy films were decorated with gold nanoparticles obtained by a double step potentiostatic electrodeposition routine that allowed fine control of deposit characteristics. Analysis of deposits was performed by means of SEM and confocal Raman spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic activity of the Au/PPy electrodes was assessed for the electro-oxidation of hydrazine and hydroxylamine. Results showed a successful optimization of the route of synthesis that rendered nanocomposite electrode materials with promising applications in electrochemical sensing.
Using the entomological evidence obtained in several forensic cases analyzed in our laboratory for comparison, we evaluated the results of an experimental study carried out in a semiurban setting to ...determine the structure of the sarcosaprophagous fauna from a Mediterranean region of SE Spain. In all, 18 orders of arthropods were collected. The summarized experimental results refer to the most important taxa for estimating the postmortem interval. Thus, the seasonal character of certain Diptera species, such as
Phaenicia sericata, Calliphora vicina, Chrysomya albiceps and
Musca domestica, is cited. Among the Coleoptera, the role of Dermestidae as a necrophagous species, and of Staphylinidae and Histeridae as necrophilous, or Cleridae, Tenebrionidae and Nitidulidae as omnivorous, as well as their appearance on the corpse, is described. Among the Hymenoptera, Formicidae were as the most abundant group, acting as omnivores and not apparently related to any particular decomposition stage. The real cases are discussed using data from the literature and the experimentally obtained results. In every case, the most relevant factors for estimating PMI are briefly discussed, mentioning, when possible, the relation with the experimental results. We confirm the significance of the experimental results because they seem to be applicable to actual forensic cases, the details of which enlarge our very little knowledge on the subject in the Iberian Peninsula. The importance of regional faunistic studies of the sarcosaprophagous arthropod community, the results of which may be applied to forensic practice, is mentioned.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of aggregated amyloid peptides in the brain parenchyma and within the walls of cerebral vessels. The hippocampus—a complex brain ...structure with a pivotal role in learning and memory—is implicated in this disease. However, there is limited data on vascular changes during AD pathological degeneration in this susceptible structure, which has distinctive vascular traits. Our aim was to evaluate vascular alterations in the hippocampus of AD patients and PDAPP-J20 mice—a model of AD—and to determine the impact of Aβ40 and Aβ42 on endothelial cell activation. We found a loss of physical astrocyte-endothelium interaction in the hippocampus of individuals with AD as compared to non-AD donors, along with reduced vascular density. Astrocyte-endothelial interactions and levels of the tight junction protein occludin were altered early in PDAPP-J20 mice, preceding any signs of morphological changes or disruption of the blood–brain barrier in these mice. At later stages, PDAPP-J20 mice exhibited decreased vascular density in the hippocampus and leakage of fluorescent tracers, indicating dysfunction of the vasculature and the BBB. In vitro studies showed that soluble Aβ40 exposure in human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) was sufficient to induce NFκB translocation to the nucleus, which may be linked with an observed reduction in occludin levels. The inhibition of the membrane receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) prevented these changes in HBMEC. Additional results suggest that Aβ42 indirectly affects the endothelium by inducing astrocytic factors. Furthermore, our results from human and mouse brain samples provide evidence for the crucial involvement of the hippocampal vasculature in Alzheimer’s disease.
Summary
Background
Suboptimal response to ursodeoxycholic acid occurs in 40% of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) patients, affecting survival. Achieving a deep response (normalisation of alkaline ...phosphatase ALP and bilirubin ≤0.6 upper limit of normal) improves survival. Yet, the long‐term effectiveness of second‐line treatments remains uncertain.
Aims
To evaluate the long‐term effectiveness of obeticholic acid (OCA) ± fibrates. Focusing on biochemical response (ALP ≤1.67 times the upper limit of normal, with a decrease of at least 15% from baseline and normal bilirubin levels), normalisation of ALP, deep response and biochemical remission (deep response plus aminotransferase normalisation).
Methods
We conducted a longitudinal, observational, multicentre study involving ursodeoxyccholic acid non‐responsive PBC patients (Paris‐II criteria) from Spain and Portugal who received OCA ± fibrates.
Results
Of 255 patients, median follow‐up was 35.1 months (IQR: 20.2–53). The biochemical response in the whole cohort was 47.2%, 61.4% and 68.6% at 12, 24 and 36 months. GLOBE‐PBC and 5‐year UK‐PBC scores improved (p < 0.001). Triple therapy (ursodeoxycholic acid plus OCA plus fibrates) had significantly higher response rates than dual therapy (p = 0.001), including ALP normalisation, deep response and biochemical remission (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, triple therapy remained independently associated with biochemical response (p = 0.024), alkaline phosphatase normalisation, deep response and biochemical remission (p < 0.001). Adverse effects occurred in 41.2% of cases, leading to 18.8% discontinuing OCA. Out of 55 patients with cirrhosis, 12 developed decompensation. All with baseline portal hypertension.
Conclusion
Triple therapy was superior in achieving therapeutic goals in UDCA‐nonresponsive PBC. Decompensation was linked to pre‐existing portal hypertension.
Longitudinal, real‐world study on 255 UDCA‐nonresponsive PBC patients (Per Paris II criteria); median follow‐up of 35.1 months (IQR: 20–53). All patients received obeticholic acid (OCA), with 25% receiving later add‐on fibrate treatment (triple therapy). In multivariate analysis, triple therapy outperformed dual therapy across all surrogate biochemical endpoints of outcomes.
Molecular transport through thin polymer films has become a subject with a variety of challenges and opportunities for chemists, physicists, and material scientists in recent years. The diffusion of ...probe molecules in and out of macromolecular environments plays a major role in the response of polymer-based sensor materials or the design of time-released drug delivery systems. Obtaining an improved understanding of the relevant dynamic phenomena, like transport of molecular probes, in boundary layers represents a crucial step to develop a clearer picture of the molecular transport processes taking place at interfaces modified with macromolecular assemblies. In this work, we present a new approach based on the derivation of the theoretical impedance transfer function to unambiguously describe the impedance response of gold electrodes modified with poly(methacryloyloxy)-ethyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride (PMETAC) brushes. We demonstrate that this methodology not only enables the description of the experimental data but also provides insightful information about the dynamics of the diffusion of probe molecules inside the brush. More important, we show the capabilities of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to gather information on a molecular transport process inside the brush under experimental conditions in which other electrochemical techniques are no longer applicable. As such, we consider that this experimental approach constitutes a new and powerful tool to estimate diffusion coefficients of probe molecules into interfacial macromolecular assemblies.
“Capsule”:
Exhaust from vehicles appeared to be the major source of metal aerosols in the La Plata, Argentina region.
Airborne particulate trace metals have been measured bimonthly during day and ...night hours in four permanent stations located in residential, industrial and commercial sectors of La Plata City region, to characterize the sources and variability of atmospheric inputs. Airborne trace metal regional averages (Pb 64±62, Cu 30±27, Mn 26±20, Zn 273±227, Fe 1183±838, Ca 5343±3614, Mg 1472±967, Cr 4.3±2.4, Ni 3.2±3.5 and Cd 0.41±0.42 ng/m
3) are comparable to the values reported for not grossly polluted cities and below the general trend described for urban particulates. Two- and three-way analysis of variance and variance components tests (
P<0.05) were performed to assess the contribution of the diurnal (day vs. night), spatial (inter-station) and temporal (inter-month) components of variability. Trace metal concentrations followed the behavior of total suspended particles with higher concentrations during the day and at the Downtown station and lower at the Residential site. In general, spatial and temporal variations prevailed over diurnal differences. Spatial differences were clearly most significant for Pb, which presented higher values at the Downtown site reflecting the importance of motor exhaust inputs. In contrast, diurnal differences were more important for Mn due to increased dust resuspension during day hours. A seasonal trend with concentrations usually increasing during winter months and decreasing in spring–summer was also detected. Enrichment factors (EF) were calculated to evaluate anthropogenic versus natural element sources. High EF (21–376) were obtained for Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu reflecting the importance of anthropic inputs. The comparison with EF calculated for high-emitting vehicle particle emissions indicated that motor exhausts are the most important source of these elements in La Plata region. In contrast, the EF calculated for Mn, Cr, Ni, Ca and Mg were low (1.3–7.5) suggesting chiefly natural sources, i.e. soil-derived dusts.
The family Pamphagidae, within Orthoptera, is very diverse with regards to its sound production mechanisms. Its genus Acinipe , a Mediterranean element, is composed of several species with a quite ...restricted distribution, but there is limited knowledge on their sound production. Acinipe segurensis (Bolívar, 1908) is an endemic species from the Mediterranean area of the Iberian Peninsula, and there is no information on its sound production. The sounds produced by this species have been recorded and studied at the time and frequency domains, allowing their description for the first time. The sound is composed of echemes of single or double syllables, emitted by females when isolated from males. Both tegmina and wings are involved in the sound production through a ridge located at the basal third of the tegminal inner face and the costal vein of the wing. The sound and sound production mechanism are discussed in relation to data available from other Pamphagidae species. The results of the present study illustrate the interest in studying sound production in this family, which has secondarily adapted some structures for its function, causing diversity in both sounds and sound production mechanisms.
Chorthippus vagans is a common species of Gomphocerinae (Orthoptera) on the Iberian Peninsula. It is endangered in Central Europe where information about its ecological requirements is available; ...however, aspects of its biology are almost unknown in Mediterranean ecosystems, where it is widespread and common. The focus of this study was to determine how C. vagans adjusts its biology to environmental features of this ecosystem and to interpret how it may be affected by the ecological changes related to the re-vegetation programme linked to the construction of the Breña dam (SW Spain). The research parameters included the autoecology, feeding response and some aspects of reproduction of this species in the Southern Iberian Peninsula. To determine the local distribution and phenology of C. vagans, monthly samplings were conducted (2007-2010) in 12 sampling plots. For the food selection tests, ten nymphs and ten adults were placed individually in insectaries under controlled conditions. Grasses (Lolium sp.) and shrubs (Cistus sp.) were supplied ad libitum in two types of tests, monospecific and mixed diet. The reproductive biology was analysed by both observations of anatomical structures (integument, bristles, tibial spines, tarsal claws and mandibles) and ovarian dissections of 29 females and in laboratory rearing experiments with 15 pairs of adults. The results indicate that C. vagans shows an extended activity period which peaks at the end of summer. It is a polyphagous grasshopper, although adults show a slight preference for grasses. In addition, it is a univoltine species with spring-summer breeding activity.
To study knowledge regarding genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) and the treatments for it and to analyze treatment adherence during the COVID-19 confinement.
Multi-center observational study ...including women between 35 and 75 years. An extension study of treatment adherence was conducted during the coronavirus pandemic between March and April 2020.
A sample of 2355 women were included. Vaginal dryness was the most frequently identified symptom (74.3%). Lubricants were the best-known treatments (69.6%), followed by local estrogens (25.7%); 66% of the women did not speak to their gynecologist about sexuality. Comparative analyses were conducted according to age, menopausal status, type of menopause, place of residence, type of health care received and level of education. During the coronavirus confinement period, adherence to treatments for vulvovaginal atrophy was poor in 72.5% asked (n = 204). Reduced sexual activity (p > 0.001) and coronavirus diagnosis (p = 0.003) were significantly associated with poorer treatment compliance.
There is great lack of knowledge of the treatments used for GSM. Most women do not talk to their gynecologist about sexuality. Adherence to treatments during the coronavirus confinement has been worryingly low.
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