The aim of the study was to assess of the role of intraoperative cultures taken at the end of major heart surgery (MHS) in the prediction of postoperative mediastinitis (PM) in patients undergoing ...MHS over a 6-month period in a tertiary university hospital. Just before wound closure, a sample of the sternal border was taken, swabbing back and forth the sternal border and the subcutaneous tissues. A second sample was taken after irrigation of the deep mediastinal structures with 10 mL of Ringer lactate. Swabs were processed semiquantitatively and the mediastinal fluid with a quantitative technique. The observation of one or more colonies per plate was considered a positive culture. Cultures obtained at the end of 229 surgical interventions (227 patients) were positive with the semiquantitative or with the quantitative procedures in 31.0% (95% confidence interval CI, 25.1–37.4%) and 34.5% (95% CI, 28.4–41.0%) of the times, respectively (
P = NS). The number of microorganisms isolated in the wound swab or mediastinal fluid was 91 and 110, respectively. Of the 227 patients, 7 developed an episode of PM (3.1%; 95% CI, 1.2–6.2%) after a median time of 11 days (range, 5–19 days). The microorganisms causing the 7 cases of mediastinitis were not isolated in the intraoperative cultures in any of the cases. The value of intraoperative cultures as a test for prediction of PM depending on the breakpoint chosen were as follows: sensitivity (0%), specificity (66.2–97.3%), and positive (0%) and negative predictive values (96.8–98.0%). We recommend against surveillance cultures taken intraoperatively in patients undergoing MHS.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, specific mRNA-based anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been developed and distributed worldwide. Because this is the first time that mRNA vaccines have been used, there are ...several questions regarding their capacity to confer immunity and the durability of the specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 response. Therefore, the objective of this study was to recruit a large cohort of healthcare workers from the Gregorio Marañón Hospital vaccinated with the mRNA-1273 or BNT126b2 vaccines and to follow-up on IgG anti-RBD levels at 8 months post-vaccination.
We recruited 4,970 volunteers and measured IgG anti-RBD antibodies on days 30 and 240 post-vaccination.
We observed that both vaccines induced high levels of antibodies on day 30, while a drastic wane was observed on day 240, where mRNA-1273 vaccinated induced higher levels than BNT162b2. Stratifying by vaccine type, age, gender, and comorbidities, we identified that older mRNA-1273-vaccinated volunteers had higher antibody levels than the younger volunteers, contrary to what was observed in the BNT162b2-vaccinated volunteers.
In conclusion, we observed that mRNA-1273 has a higher capacity to induce a humoral response than BNT162b2 and that age is a factor in the specific response.
Our objective was to determine whether a recombinant chitinase ChiA74∆sp of Bacillus thuringiensis and its truncated versions (ChiA74∆sp-60, ChiA74∆sp-50) could be produced in B. thuringiensis HD1 ...with no detrimental effect on the size and insecticidal activity of the native bipyramidal Cry crystal. chiA-p, the promoter used to drive chitinase gene expression, was active during vegetative growth of Cry-B. HD1 recombinants showed increases from ~7- to 12-fold in chitinase activity when compared with parental HD1 and negligible or no effect on the volume of bipyramidal crystals was observed. HD1/ChiA74∆sp-60 showed increases from 20% to 40% in the yield of Cry1A per unit of culture medium when compared with parental HD1 and HD1/ChiA74∆sp-50, HD1/ChiA74∆sp. Inclusion bodies presumably composed of the enzyme attached to native Cry1A crystals of recombinant strains were observed; these inclusions were likely responsible for the enhancements in chitinase activity. Western blot analysis using polyclonal anti-ChiA74∆sp showed a weak signal with proteins of ~50 kDa in sporulated and lysed cells of recombinant strains. Bioassays against Spodoptera frugiperda using sporulated/lysed samples of the recombinant strains did not show statistically significant differences in LC50s when compared with HD1.
PCR on nasopharyngeal exudates, the cornerstone of the detection of SARS-CoV-2, is time-consuming and commonly unavailable at primary health care centres. Detection of viral nucleocapsid antigens ...using lateral flow point-of-care tests is helpful for the early triage of patients who attend health care facilities.
This was a prospective study carried out in clinically suspected cases and close asymptomatic contacts who attended a primary care centre (Madrid, Spain) for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Patients were divided into three 300-patient cohorts (n = 200 symptomatic cases and n = 100 close asymptomatic contacts per cohort). Three antigen detection tests (SGTI-Flex COVID-19 Ag, Panbio COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device, and GSD NovaGen SARS-CoV-2 Ag Rapid Test) were used and compared. Paired nasopharyngeal exudates were obtained, one swab for PCR and the other for antigen detection. Each antigen detection test was evaluated on one cohort.
All tests showed invariably 100% specificity. Sensitivity was 68.9% (95% CI: 55.7–80; SGTI-Flex), 71.1% (95% CI: 55.6–83.6; Panbio), and 84.6% (95% CI: 72–93.1; NovaGen) in clinically suspected patients and 84.6% (95% CI: 54.5–98.1), 33.3% (95% CI: 11.8–61.6), and 55.6% (95% CI: 30.7–78.4) in close asymptomatic contacts, respectively. Sensitivity was systematically higher in samples yielding positive PCR results with Ct ≤ 20.
We found considerable test-to-test antigen detection variations among patients with clinical suspicion of COVID-19 and close asymptomatic contacts. Negative antigen results, regardless of the test used, should be confirmed by PCR.
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Bacillus thuringiensis strains isolated from Latin American soil samples that showed toxicity against three Spodoptera frugiperda populations from different geographical areas (Mexico, Colombia, and ...Brazil) were characterized on the basis of their insecticidal activity, crystal morphology, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of parasporal crystals, plasmid profiles, and cry gene content. We found that the different S. frugiperda populations display different susceptibilities to the selected B. thuringiensis strains and also to pure preparations of Cry1B, Cry1C, and Cry1D toxins. Binding assays performed with pure toxin demonstrated that the differences in the toxin binding capacities of these insect populations correlated with the observed differences in susceptibility to the three Cry toxins analyzed. Finally, the genetic variability of the three insect populations was analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA-PCR, which showed significant genetic diversity among the three S. frugiperda populations analyzed. The data presented here show that the genetic variability of S. frugiperda populations should be carefully considered in the development of insect pest control strategies, including the deployment of genetically modified maize in different geographical regions.
This research addresses the role played by the Autonomous Constitutional Bodies (OCA) within presidentialism in the Mexican political system. It starts with the analysis of the presidential regime ...and the Mexican variant, paying special attention to the democratic transition in the 1990s. Subsequently, it analyzes from a constitutional and political point of view, one of the main Mexican constitutional innovations that paved the way for the creation of the OCAs, which facilitated the loss of constitutional powers of the head of state and the end of imperial presidentialism. To facilitate their understanding and legal configuration, the specific case of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) is analyzed, which exemplifies well the limits of these institutions, but also their capacity to modernize and democratize the Mexican State. However, this type of institutions would apparently be redesigning the political system in terms of the separation and division of the powers of the State, but without achieving true autonomy and limits for governments with a majority in the chambers
La presente investigación aborda el papel que juegan los Órganos Constitucionales Autónomos (OCA) dentro del presidencialismo en el sistema político mexicano. Se parte del análisis del régimen presidencial y de la variante mexicana, dando especial atención a la transición democrática en los años 90. Posteriormente, se analiza desde una mirada constitucional y política, una de las principales innovaciones constitucionales mexicanas que allanaron este camino con la creación de las OCA, que facilitaron la pérdida de poderes constitucionales del jefe de Estado y el fin del presidencialismo imperial. Para facilitar su comprensión y configuración legal, se analiza el caso concreto de la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH), lo que ejemplifica bien los límites de estas instituciones, pero también su capacidad para modernizar y democratizar al Estado mexicano. Sin embargo, aparentemente este tipo de instituciones estarían rediseñando el sistema político en cuanto a la separación y división de los poderes del Estado, pero sin lograr una verdadera autonomía y límite para gobiernos con mayoría en las cámaras.
Infective juveniles (IJs) of an entomopathogenic nematode strain native to southern Mexico transported an associated bacterium that turned the infected Galleria mellonella (L) larvae reddish. The ...nematode isolate (LBIN-1) was identified as Steinernema carpocapsae (Filipjev) by ITS sequence, and its associated bacterium (LBSe-17) as Serratia marcescens Bizio by 16S rDNA sequencing. Infectivity of S. marcescens LBSe-17 was confirmed by following Koch's postulates on G. mellonella larvae. Phoresis of the associated S. marcescens bacterium by the nematode into the G. mellonella larvae was corroborated by exposing G. mellonella larvae to S. marcescens either alone or mixed with the nematode. No larval mortality was observed in the first treatment, while 100% mortality was observed in the second treatment. S. marcescens was superficially carried by the IJs, as confirmed by surface sterilization of IJs, which caused total larval mortality but no growth of S. marcescens. Artificial induction of a similar association was achieved by mixing the S. marcescens strain with another Steinernema sp. strain (LBIN-2), showing total larval mortality of G. mellonella larvae and proliferation of S. marcescens in the cadavers. However, 5 consecutive cycles of larval infections showed that colony forming unit (CFU) counts from the larval cadavers declined sharply in the artificially induced association, while the natural association LBIN-1/ LBSe-17 declined, but then tended to stabilize.
El objetivo del artículo es analizar desde las políticas públicas el proceso de contabilidad medioambiental, como sistema de gestión de información administrativa y financiera. Metodológicamente, se ...basó en el paradigma positivista, bajo un estudio cuantitativo y diseño de campo. La población estuvo conformada por Contadores Públicos y Gerentes de Gestión Ambiental, que se desempeñan en empresas agroindustriales de palma de aceite. diseñándose un instrumento con escala tipo Likert. Se concluye que el indicador fortalecido es el de Unidad de Medida, como el medio efectivo para el intercambio de bienes y servicios, y para registrar los efectos económicos de los eventos que afectan a la organización.
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