Physicochemical and pharmacotechnical characterization of Prussian blue for future Prussian blue oral dosage forms formulation.

Ferric hexacyanoferrate, Fe4 [Fe(CN)6]3 · xH2O, known as Prussian blue (PB), has proven its effectiveness as an antidote in cases of accidental poisoning or poisoning caused by radioactive materials such as cesium (Cs) and thallium (Tl); which due to their solubility in water, when absorbed by the human body, cause serious damage to vital organs. The local development of a drug with PB as an active ingredient arises as a response to the civil and military needs established within the Ministry's pharmacy request for national defense. This fact contemplates the circumstances related to public health protection in the nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical (NRBQ) of the emergency institutions in health and national security. In this paper and by using various analytical techniques, the characterization of the locally synthesized PB with pharmaceutical quality has been described, as a first step to predict its behavior in the preparation of a drug that contains it as an active ingredient. The research findings demonstrate that locally synthesized PB is suitable for use in oral dosage forms, enabling the local development of drug formulations incorporating PB, thus being able to potentially become a main resource in the treatment of Cs and Tl poisoning in any accidental or intended of the population. This development opens up the possibility of creating drug formulations that incorporate PB at a local level, making it a potentially significant resource in the treatment of Cs and Tl poisoning. The ability to locally produce and utilize PB in oral dosage forms could be crucial in addressing cases of accidental or intentional exposure within the population. This advancement not only contributes to the scientific understanding of PB but also holds promising implications for practical applications in public health and emergency situations.

Efficacy of Juncus maritimus floating treatment saltmarsh as anti-contamination barrier for saltwater aquaculture pollution control.

Floating treatment saltmarsh (FTS) is a new concept proposed to name floating treatment wetlands made of estuarine halophytes especially engineered for the control of contamination in brackish and saline waterbodies. The first full-scale FTS was implemented in 2018 to create an anti-contamination barrier for saline aquaculture wastewater treatment in an estuarine tidal lagoon. Results of a two-year investigation validated 'Phytobatea' modular technology for floating wetlands implementation and operation. Juncus maritimus crossflow FTS efficiency on main mariculture wastewater constituents' removal under low hydraulic retention time was remarkable, i.e., total phosphorus (86%), total suspended solids (82%), biochemical oxygen demand (78%), total organic carbon (55%), turbidity (53%), Escherichia coli (30%), and dissolved oxygen increased (19%). Key features of the native halophyte Juncus maritimus were determined to ensure 75-100% survival under high water salinities up to 38 g/L. A scientific literature review confirmed strategic sectors' growing interest in Juncus maritimus as raw material, supporting its possible cultivation as an added-value by-product within integrated aquaculture systems. Plants' root systems colonization by crabs, shrimps, and young individuals of the critically endangered European eel (Anguilla anguilla), revealed the role of FTS for biodiversity conservation, and its potential as functional habitat, nursery, and refuge for aquatic fauna species in contaminated waterbodies.

Carex paniculata constructed wetland efficacy for stormwater, sewage and livestock wastewater treatment in rural settlements of mountain areas.

Constructed wetlands are one of the most appropriate wastewater treatment systems in mountain areas, where altitude, slope and climate constitute major environmental and economic constraints for infrastructure construction and subsequent management. In order to protect mountain natural wetland habitats that are sensitive to ecological equilibrium disruption, instead of the more commonly used macrophytes, plant species native to upland wetlands should be preferentially implemented as a contribution to biodiversity conservation and for the creation of more efficient, more resilient and better-adapted constructed wetlands. Carex paniculata is a key macrophyte in several European mountain aquatic habitats, and one of the few high-biomass producers that can grow at sea level and at altitudes of up to 2,600 m. In this paper, the results of a 2-year investigation demonstrate the efficacy of Carex paniculata for the treatment of the mixed stormwater, sewage and livestock wastewater effluents from a typical rural settlement at 825 m above sea level in the Cantabrian Mountains. The year-round suitability of Carex paniculata for the treatment of wastewater with seasonally variable flow and composition in mountain areas is demonstrated.

Optimization of digital volume correlation computation in SR-microCT images of trabecular bone and bone-biomaterial systems.

A micromechanical characterization of biomaterials for bone tissue engineering is essential to understand the quality of the newly regenerated bone, enabling the improvement of tissue regeneration strategies. A combination of microcomputed tomography in conjunction with in situ mechanical testing and digital volume correlation (DVC) has become a powerful technique to investigate the internal deformation of bone structure at a range of dimensional scales. However, in order to obtain accurate three-dimensional strain measurement at tissue level, high-resolution images must be acquired, and displacement/strain measurement uncertainties evaluated. The aim of this study was to optimize imaging parameters, image postprocessing and DVC settings to enhance computation based on 'zero-strain' repeated high-resolution synchrotron microCT scans of trabecular bone and bone-biomaterial systems. Low exposures to SR X-ray radiation were required to minimize irradiation-induced tissue damage, resulting in the need of advanced three-dimensional filters on the reconstructed images to reduce DVC-measured strain errors. Furthermore, the computation of strain values only in the hard phase (i.e. bone, biomaterial) allowed the exclusion of large artefacts localized in the bone marrow. This study demonstrated the suitability of a local DVC approach based on synchrotron microCT images to investigate the micromechanics of trabecular bone and bone-biomaterial composites at tissue level with a standard deviation of the errors in the region of 100 microstrain after a thorough optimization of DVC computation. LAY DESCRIPTION: Understanding the quality of newly regenerated bone after implantation of novel biomaterials is essential to improve bone tissue engineering strategies and formulation of biomaterials. The relationship between microstructure and mechanics of bone has been previously addressed combining microcomputed tomography with in situ mechanical testing. The addition of an image-based experimental technique such as digital volume correlation (DVC) allows to characterize the deformation of materials in a three-dimensional manner. However, in order to obtain accurate information at the micro-scale, high-resolution images, obtained for example by using synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography, as well as optimization of the DVC computation are needed. This study presents the effect of different imaging parameters, image postprocessing and DVC settings for as accurate investigation of trabecular bone structure and bone-biomaterial interfaces. The results showed that when appropriate image postprocessing and DVC settings are used DVC computation results in very low strain errors. This is of vital importance for a correct understanding of the deformation in bone-biomaterial systems and the ability of such biomaterials in producing new bone comparable with the native tissue they are meant to replace.

[Tuberculosis outbreak at a public school]. / Brote epidémico de tuberculosis en un colegio público.

BACKGROUND: At school there are special circumstances of living together and a particular susceptibility, which favour the emergence of tuberculosis microepidemics. We report here the microepidemic occurred at a school among 9-year old children. METHODS: After ruling out a possible familiar source in a child with pulmonary tuberculosis, we detected a case with high bacillar shedding in a female teacher and conducted a tuberculin search among children and teachers, initially outlining the theoretical groups at risk. Tuberculin positive children underwent chest-X-ray and when abnormalities were found, children were derived to the pediatrician for chemotherapy. All converters received secondary chemoprophylaxis and all non-respondents primary chemoprophylaxis. RESULTS: The classroom where the teacher spent most of het time had a higher rate of converters (70%) than other classroom, where the index teacher spent only a partial time (40%; RR: 1.75; CI: 1.06-2.88) or the collective of teachers (45.4%; RR: 1.45; CI: 0.94-2.23). Three additional cases of secondary disease were detected, all of them children. The initial compliance with chemoprophylaxis was greater among (for) children (97.0%) than among teachers (41.6%). Among children there was one case of tuberculin conversion compared with three cases among teachers. No additional cases were detected; also, an abnormal rate of reactors outside the initially studied groups was also not detected. CONCLUSIONS: Our results somehow agree with those reported from other school outbreaks. To note the anergy and lack of symptoms in the index case and the suggestion to delineate the degree of spending hours together to identify groups with a higher theoretical risk of being infected. Thus, an unnecessary expense of resources and a social alarm would be avoided.

Hepatitis B vaccine immunoresponsiveness in adolescents: a revaccination proposal after primary vaccination.

Hepatitis B recombinant vaccine immunoresponsiveness was studied in 427 preadolescents vaccinated with a 0, 1 and 6 months vaccination schedule. AntiHBs postvaccination titres (measured one month after the last dose) were related to the following variables: sex; weight; height; and Quetelet index. The antiHBs postvaccination titres were used to predict the length of protection induced by the vaccine. All preadolescents developed antiHBs titres 10 IU l-1 and no statistically significant differences could be found between sexes. The relation study between antiHBs postvaccination levels and Quetelet index showed a statistically significant inverse correlation. According to the antiHBs postvaccination titres, the central 50% of the sample distribution would be protected during a period between 7.5 and 10.5 years. In pre-teenagers, the hepatitis B recombinant vaccine has proven to be highly immunogenic, obesity is a predictor of poor immunoresponse and this response is not influenced by sex. According to our results, we would propose the administration of a single booster dose 10 years after primary vaccination and thus protect these subjects during the period of greatest risk.

[Coverage and immune response to systematic hepatitis B vaccination in preadolescents of the city of Elche]. / Cobertura e inmunorrespuesta a la vacunación sistemática antihepatitis B en preadolescentes de la ciudad de Elche.

OBJECTIVE: To know the coverage of the systematic program of hepatitis B vaccination in the population of 7th year primary school children (12 years old) in the city of Elche. To investigate the immune response to the vaccine, and the length of protection according to this response. To study the relationship between the immune response and other biological variables such as height, weight, Quetelet index and sex. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: In a school community. PARTICIPANTS: The first five students of 7th in all the official class lists (110) from each school (53) were selected. The immune response was studied in 427 students. MAIN RESULTS: The 84.36 +/- 4 were correctly vaccinated (95 percent confidence level). A month after the booster dose, the antibodies HBs titres were quantified, considering levels of protection > or = 10 mU/ml. We found that Quetelet index and the antibody response were inversely correlated (p = 0.015). Sex was not a significant predictor of lack of detectable antibody response. 100% of correctly vaccinated children reached protective titres of antibodies, and 54% of them would be protected for 9 years or more. CONCLUSIONS: We consider the coverage satisfactory and excellent the seroprotection that this vaccine offers to these children. We suggest, to this population, a booster dose 10 years after the first vaccination.

[Epidemiology of caries in Alicante preschoolers. 1. Prevalence, DF index and restoration index]. / Epidemiologia de la caries en preescolares de la ciudad de Alicante. Primera parte: prevalencia, indice CO e indice de restauración.

In the city of Alicante (non-flouridated area) an epidemiological study of dental caries of deciduous teeth has been carried out. From a total population 7,289 preschoolers aged between 4 and 6 years, a representative sample of 1,292 children was obtained by the sampling process of a stratified randomization. The overall prevalence of dental caries in the examined sample was 42.96%, increasing from 33.58% at 4 years of age to 49.73% at 5 years. The CO-t (tooth) index was 1.44 and the CO-s (surfaces of teeth) 2.18. The morbidity index was 1.40. Second molares were the primary teeth most frequently affected (60.89%). The restoration index of 0.03 was noticeably low, being untreated 97% of the affected teeth.

[Epidemiology of caries in Alicante preschoolers. 2. Risk factors]. / Epidemiología de la caries en preescolares de la ciudad de Alicante. Segunda parte: factores de riesgo.

An epidemiological study of dental caries amongst preschoolers (aged between 4 and 6 years) from the city of Alicante has been carried out. The influence of the socioeconomic class as well as higienic and diet habits on the appearance dental caries of deciduous teeth has been evaluated. From a total population 7,289 preschoolers, a representative sample of 1,292 children was obtained by the sampling process of a stratified randomization. A statistical significant association was found between socioeconomic class and dental caries (p less than or equal to 0.05), being the lower classes the more prone to dental caries. Higienic habits of the examined children were clearly inadequate; 75.62% of preschoolers showing dental plaque. There was a statistical significant relationship between dental plaque and caries (p less than or equal to 0.05). The ingestion of candies has been shown to be also related with dental caries. Those children who never eat candies showed a prevalence of dental caries of 30.84%, whereas the prevalence increased up to 44% in cases of frequent ingestion of sugared food.