Direct and Label-Free Monitoring of Albumin in 2D Fatty Liver Disease Model Using Plasmonic Nanogratings.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) is a metabolic disorder related to a chronic lipid accumulation within the hepatocytes. This disease is the most common liver disorder worldwide, and it is estimated that it is present in up to 25% of the world's population. However, the real prevalence of this disease and the associated disorders is unknown mainly because reliable and applicable diagnostic tools are lacking. It is known that the level of albumin, a pleiotropic protein synthesized by hepatocytes, is correlated with the correct function of the liver. The development of a complementary tool that allows direct, sensitive, and label-free monitoring of albumin secretion in hepatocyte cell culture can provide insight into NAFLD's mechanism and drug action. With this aim, we have developed a simple integrated plasmonic biosensor based on gold nanogratings from periodic nanostructures present in commercial Blu-ray optical discs. This sensor allows the direct and label-free monitoring of albumin in a 2D fatty liver disease model under flow conditions using a highly-specific polyclonal antibody. This technology avoids both the amplification and blocking steps showing a limit of detection within pM range (≈0.26 ng/mL). Thanks to this technology, we identified the optimal fetal bovine serum (FBS) concentration to maximize the cells' lipid accumulation. Moreover, we discovered that the hepatocytes increased the amount of albumin secreted on the third day from the lipids challenge. These data demonstrate the ability of hepatocytes to respond to the lipid stimulation releasing more albumin. Further investigation is needed to unveil the biological significance of that cell behavior.

Implementation of an Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention, and a Referral Program at a Community Level II Trauma Center.

BACKGROUND: Trauma is the leading cause of years of potential life lost in the United States. Alcohol and drug use is a significant contributing factor. In 2017, a Level II community trauma center was achieving less than 80% screening rate compliance utilizing blood alcohol level as a screening method for trauma patients. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the implementation of a screening, brief intervention, and a referral-to-treatment service program. METHODS: In 2018, the trauma program adopted structured interviews as a screening method for trauma patients. The injury prevention coordinator conducted structured interviews as a screening method for trauma patients who met inclusion criteria. High-risk patients were referred to the social worker, who conducted a brief evaluation with subsequent referral to treatment. RESULTS: One year after the implementation of a structured interview approach, 1,021 trauma patients met inclusion criteria for this retrospective evaluation. From 2017 to 2018, the program observed an 86% statistically significant increase in screening using the structured interview SBIRT program (p < .0001) compared with the prior alcohol-level screening approach. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these data, a structured interview screening method demonstrated a significant improvement in screening compliance rates.

Intervención de enfermería para la disminución de la ansiedad ante el parto vaginal / Efficacy of nursing intervention management of anxiety before vaginal delivery

El parto vaginal, se conoce como el comienzo espontáneo, o ciclo natural, que permite llegar al final exitoso de la gestación en la mujer. Objetivo: determinar la eficacia de la intervención de enfermería manejo de la ansiedad en mujeres gestantes frente al parto, en el Hospital de segundo nivel en San Gil, Santander. Materiales y métodos: es un estudio cuasi-experimental, con un solo grupo la muestra estuvo conformada 29 mujeres gestantes que cumplieran con los criterios de inclusión, la información se obtuvo a través del cuestionario de ansiedad estado rasgo STAI "State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Self Evaluation Questionnaire)". Resultados: Se encontró que el promedio de la edad de las gestantes que participaron en el estudio fue de 24 años, el estado civil de más de la mitad de las gestantes es unión libre con un 65,5%. La diferencia de medias entre las puntuaciones pre y post obtuvieron una significación estadística. La media de las puntuaciones de la variable ansiedad estado disminuyo antes (x = 22,3) después de la intervención (x = 20). Conclusión: Se logró describir el nivel la ansiedad en las gestantes y al realizar la comparación de la prueba pre y post se evidenció una disminución en el nivel de ansiedad, por tanto, se debe trabajar en un plan de cuidados, tal como en la teoría de cuidados de Swanson, debe ser un trabajo humanístico hacia las personas a nuestro cuidado. (AU)

Vaginal birth is known as the spontaneous onset, or natural cycle, which allows the successful end of pregnancy in women. Objective: to determine the effectiveness of the nursing intervention anxiety management in pregnant women against childbirth, in the second level Hospital in San Gil, Santander. Materials and methods: is a quasi-experimental study, with a single group the sample consisted of 29 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria, the information was obtained through the STAI state anxiety trait questionnaire "State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Self Evaluation Questionnaire)" Results: It was found that the average age of the pregnant women who participated in the study was 24 years, the marital status of more than half of the pregnant women is free union with 65.5%. The difference in means between the pre and post scores obtained a statistical significance. The mean scores of the state anxiety variable decreased before (x = 22.3) after the intervention (x = 20). Conclusions: It was possible to describe the level of anxiety in pregnant women and when comparing the pre and post test, a decrease in the level of anxiety was evidenced, therefore it is necessary to work in a care plan, such as in the theory of care from Swanson, it must be a humanistic work towards the people in our care. (AU)

Microphysiological sensing platform for an in-situ detection of tissue-secreted cytokines.

Understanding the protein-secretion dynamics from single, specific tissues is critical toward the advancement of disease detection and treatments. However, such secretion dynamics remain difficult to measure in vivo due to the uncontrolled contributions from other tissue populations. Here, we describe an integrated platform designed for the reliable, near real-time measurements of cytokines secreted from an in vitro single-tissue model. In our setup, we grow 3D biomimetic tissues to discretize cytokine source, and we separate them from a magnetic microbead-based biosensing system using a Transwell insert. This design integrates physiochemically controlled biological activity, high-sensitivity protein detection (LOD < 20 pg mL-1), and rapid protein diffusion to enable non-invasive, near real-time measurements. To showcase the specificity and sensitivity of the system, we use our setup to probe the inflammatory process related to the protein Interleukine 6 (IL-6) and to the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α). We show that our setup can monitor the time-dependence profile of IL-6 and TNF-α secretion that results from the electrical and chemical stimulation of 3D skeletal muscle tissues. We demonstrate a novel and affordable methodology for discretizing the secretion kinetics of specific tissues for advancing metabolic-disorder studies and drug-screening applications.