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For this study, 340 children <18 months old from a low-income, urban neighborhood in Cali, Colombia, were observed from birth by means of weekly home visits to detect cases of acute respiratory tract infection. All suspected cases were confirmed by trained doctors in a special clinic. Information on symptoms, signs, and potential risk factors was documented prospectively. Etiologic agents were identified in cases of lower respiratory tract infection (LRI). The overall incidence of upper respiratory tract infection was 6.6 cases per child-year at risk. The incidence of upper respiratory tract infection was 4.9 cases per child-year at risk and that of LRI was 1.7 cases per child-year at risk. Crowding in the home was found to be significantly associated with an increased incidence of LRI. Respiratory syncytial virus was the viral agent most frequently isolated from cultures of nasopharyngeal aspirates of children with LRI. Staphylococcus aureus was the bacterial agent most frequently isolated from the blood of patients with LRI.

DDIT4 gene encodes a protein whose main action is to inhibit mTOR under stress conditions whilst several in vitro studies indicate that its expression favors cancer progression. We have previously described that DDIT4 expression is an independent prognostic factor for tripe negative breast cancer resistant to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We herein report that high DDIT4 expression is related to the outcome (recurrence-free survival, time to progression and overall survival) in several cancer types. We performed in silico analysis in online platforms, in pooled datasets from KM Plotter and meta-analysis of individual datasets from SurvExpress. High levels of DDIT4 were significantly associated with a worse prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia, breast cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, colon, skin and lung cancer. Conversely, a high DDIT4 expression was associated with an improved prognostic in gastric cancer. DDIT4 was not associated with the outcome of ovarian cancers. Analysis with data from the Cell Miner Tool in 60 cancer cell lines indicated that although rapamycin activity was correlated with levels of MTOR , it is not influenced by DDIT4 expression. In summary, DDIT4 might serve as a novel prognostic biomarker in several malignancies. DDIT4 activity could be responsible for resistance to mTOR inhibitors and is a potential candidate for the development of targeted therapy.

Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug given to patients before and after having a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Genomic variants in the CYP2C19 gene are associated with variable enzyme activities affecting drug metabolism and hence, patients with reduced or increased enzymatic function have increased risk of bleeding. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis to compare a pharmacogenomics versus a non-pharmacogenomics-guided clopidogrel treatment for coronary artery syndrome patients undergoing PCI in the Spanish healthcare setting. A total of 549 patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease followed by PCI were recruited. Dual antiplatelet therapy was administrated to all patients from 1 to 12 months after PCI. Patients were classified into two groups: the Retrospective group was treated with clopidogrel based on the clinical routine practice and the Prospective group were initially genotyped for the presence of CYP2C19 variant alleles before treatment with those carrying more than one CYP2C19 variant alleles given prasugrel treatment. We collected data on established clinical and health outcome measures, including, per treatment arm: the percentage of patients that suffered from (a) myocardial infraction, (b) major bleeding and minor bleeding, (c) stroke, (d) the number of hospitalization days, and (e) the number of days patients spent in Intensive Care Unit. Our primary outcome measure for the cost-effectiveness analysis was Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). To estimate the treatment cost for each patient, individual data on its resource used were combined with unit price data, obtained from Spanish national sources. The analysis predicts a survival of 0.9446 QALYs in the pharmacogenomics arm and 0.9379 QALYs in the non-pharmacogenomics arm within a 1-year horizon. The cumulative costs per patient were €2971 and €3205 for the Prospective and Retrospective groups, respectively. The main cost driver of total cost in both arms was hospitalization costs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was negative indicating that the PGx was a dominant option. Our data show that pharmacogenomics-guided clopidogrel treatment strategy may represent a cost-effective choice compared with non-pharmacogenomics-guided strategy for patients undergoing PCI.

A sensitive and efficient analytical process for detecting lamotrigine in acidic solution based in ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) was developed; the stationary phase used was a C8, 150 × 4.6 mm, 2.6 µm. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile/acidified water (0.01% H3PO4 and 0.005% triethylamine, pH 2.4) (25 : 75 v/v). Limits of detection and quantification were 0.02 µg/mL and 0.05 µg/mL, respectively. The working interval for the evaluation of the method ranged from 0.05 to 12 µg/mL, and the linear fit of the experimental data has a value of r2≥0.98. Before quantifying lamotrigine in plasma of patients with bipolar disorder, lamotrigine was released from plasma proteins with a 0.2 M sodium hydroxide solution, and then proteins were removed by precipitation with acetonitrile. Afterward, the lamotrigine base was dissolved in ethyl acetate. This extract was reconstituted in potassium phosphate solution (pH 2.4) to obtain more than 98% of lamotrigine protonated in N2, which was detected and quantified as indicated above. The absolute percentage of lamotrigine recovery is  ≥80% for all tested concentration levels. The accuracy and precision of the method have %CV values <4% for the lamotrigine levels of 3, 6, and 9 µg/mL. The correlation coefficient for the used concentration range is 0.99. The analytical method is precise and sensitive to measure lamotrigine levels expected in plasma of BD patients and these levels were in the therapeutic dose range.

Wearable Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) technology, designed for non-invasive respiratory monitoring, has demonstrated considerable promise in the early detection of severe diseases. This paper introduces the application of supervised machine learning techniques to predict respiratory abnormalities through frequency data analysis. The principal aim is to identify respiratory-related health risks in older adults using data collected from non-invasive wearable devices. This article presents the development, assessment, and comparison of three machine learning models, underscoring their potential for accurately predicting respiratory-related health issues in older adults. The convergence of wearable IoMT technology and machine learning holds immense potential for proactive and personalized healthcare among older adults, ultimately enhancing their quality of life.

Recently, we have discovered an endogenous cholinergic pathway for angiogenesis mediated by endothelial nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Since angiogenesis plays a major role in wound repair, we hypothesized that activation of nAChRs with nicotine would accelerate wound healing in a murine excisional wound model. In genetically diabetic and control mice full-thickness skin wounds (0.8 cm) were created on the dorsum and topically treated over 7 days with either vehicle (phosphate-buffered saline, PBS) or nicotine (10 −8 mol/L, 10 −9 mol/L; each, n = 5). Wound size was measured over 14 days followed by resection, histological analysis, and quantitation of vascularity. In diabetic animals an agonist (epibatidine, 10 −10 mol/L) or antagonist (hexamethonium, 10 −4 mol/L) of nAChRs as well as the positive control basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, 25 μg/kg) were also tested. To further study the role of endothelial nAChRs in angiogenesis, we used an ex vivo vascular explant model. In diabetic mice wound healing was markedly impaired. Nicotine significantly accelerated wound healing as assessed by closure rate and histological score. The effects of nicotine were equal to bFGF and were mimicked by epibatidine and blocked by hexamethonium. Histomorphometry revealed increased neovascularization in animals treated with nicotine. Furthermore, capillary-like sprouting from vascular explants was significantly enhanced by nicotine. In conclusion, agonist-induced stimulation of nAChRs accelerates wound healing in diabetic mice by promoting angiogenesis. We have discovered a cholinergic pathway for angiogenesis that is involved in wound healing, and which is a potential target for therapeutic angiogenesis.

A collaborative work was carried out by the Spanish and Portuguese ISFG Working Group (GEP‐ISFG) to estimate Y‐STR mutation rates. Seventeen Y chromosome STR loci (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I and II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460, DYS461, DYS635 [GATA C4], GATA H4, and GATA A10) were analyzed in a sample of 3,026 father/son pairs. Among 27,029 allele transfers, 54 mutations were observed, with an overall mutation rate across the 17 loci of 1.998 × 10–3 (95% CI, 1.501 × 10–3 to 2.606 × 10–3). With just one exception, all of the mutations were single‐step, and they were observed only once per gametogenesis. Repeat gains were more frequent than losses, longer alleles were found to be more mutable, and the mutation rate seemed to increase with the father's age. Hum Mutat 26(6), 520–528, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Using both traditional methods and broad-range 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) polymerase chain reaction, we examined 2 cases of lethal cestodiasis, in which the disease agent had been poorly identified or misidentified. In one case, involving a patient with AIDS, we identified the human dwarf tapeworm, Hymenolepis nana as a cause of aberrant metastatic larval disease. In the second case with similar pathologic abnormalities, involving a patient with Hodgkin disease, we identified a larval cestode with a previously uncharacterized 18S rDNA sequence. A prior report of this case nearly 30 years ago, based on tissue examination, had suggested that the parasite was a sparganum

'BRS Vitória' is a novel cultivar of black seedless table grape. Its main traits meet the most important demands from the viticulture segment in Brazil. It is recommended for cultivation in tropical and subtropical areas, with excellent horticultural performance, high bud fecundity and resistance to downy mildew, the most important disease which affects grapevines in Brazil.

The present research addresses an analysis of the level of contamination produced by gases generated from carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrocarbons (HC) in the cleaning of metallic sheets of stainless steel AISI / SAE 304, when applying low pressure cold oxygen plasma for the removal of oils ISO 32, ISO 68 and ISO 220, using different generator control parameters according to the lubricating oil removed from the surface of the stainless steel metallic sheet. The experimentation was carried out in a first phase in which a discharge was applied directly to the surface of the sheet contaminated with a volume of 0.1 ml of oil, and in a second phase in which the sheet with the oil was immersed in an oil degreaser to perform a pre-cleaning prior to the application of low pressure cold plasma on the surface. For analyzing the results in the level of gases generated by each oil, a statistical analysis is applied to determine if there is a significant difference in the level of the gases generated between the two phases.ion exist. La presente investigación aborda un análisis del nivel de contaminación producido por los gases generados de monóxido de carbono (CO), dióxido de carbono (CO2) y los hidrocarburos (HC) en la limpieza de láminas metálicas de acero inoxidable AISI/SAE 304 aplicando plasma frío de oxígeno a baja presión para la remoción de los aceites ISO 32, ISO 68 e ISO 220, con diferentes parámetros de control del generador de acuerdo con el aceite lubricante removido de la superficie de la lámina metálica de acero inoxidable. La experimentación se realizó en un primer proceso con una descarga aplicada directamente a la superficie de la lámina impregnada con el aceite colocando con un volumen de 0,1 ml y en un segundo proceso donde la lámina con el aceite impregnado fue sumergida en un desengrasante para aceites y grasas con la finalidad de realizar una limpieza previa a la aplicación del plasma frío a baja presión en la superficie. Para el análisis de los resultados en el nivel de gases generados por cada aceite se aplica un análisis estadístico para determinar si existe una diferencia significativa en el nivel de los gases generados en las dos etapas.