Percepciones que tienen trabajadores chilenos sobre el impacto del teletrabajo en el entorno de covid-19

RESUMEN La pandemia ha generado diversos cambios que han llevado a las empresas a buscar estrategias para continuar sus procesos productivos y proteger la salud de los trabajadores; entre estas, la más destacada es el Teletrabajo. Objetivo: Analizar las percepciones que tienen los trabajadores chilenos sobre el impacto del teletrabajo en términos de Estrés laboral, Balance Vida-Trabajo y Satisfacción, en ambiente de contingencia producto del COVID-19. Material y Método: Investigación de tipo cuantitativa, tipo relacional y de corte transversal que utilizó un muestreo por conveniencia y se obtuvieron datos de 225 trabajadores chilenos que estaban realizando teletrabajo producto del COVID-19 y respondieron la encuesta on-line. Se utilizó un instrumento con 26 reactivos, que se aplicó a trabajadores mayores de edad que estuvieran realizando actividades desde casa, entre los meses de septiembre a octubre de 2020, logrando obtener 181 respuestas útiles. Resultados: Los trabajadores que se encuentran en modalidad telemática corresponden mayormente a mujeres, solteras, entre 24 a 40 años, del ámbito educativo, del sector público y tienen experiencia laboral mayor a diez años; existe una relación positiva entre la satisfacción laboral y el teletrabajo (r= 0,381), mientras que para las variables Estrés laboral y Balance vida-trabajo sucede lo contrario, es decir, una relación negativa (r= -0,408). Conclusión: Las actividades telemáticas producen a los trabajadores sintomatología de estrés, como tensión y/o ansiedad, pero a pesar de esto, tienen una actitud positiva ante este cambio en la modalidad laboral, tratando de vivir el día a día y buscando cómo apoyar a otros.

ABSTRACT The pandemic has caused several changes that have led companies to look for strategies to continue their production processes and protect the health of workers. Among these strategies, the most important is Teleworking. Objective: To analyze the perceptions that Chilean workers have on the impact of teleworking in terms of work stress, work-life balance and satisfaction, in a contingency environment as a result of COVID-19. Material and Method: Quantitative, relational and cross-sectional research using convenience sampling and data from 225 Chilean workers who were teleworking as a result of COVID-19 and responded to the on-line survey. An instrument with 26 items was applied to workers of legal age who were carrying out activities from home, between the months of September to October 2020, collecting 181 useful responses. Results: People working from home correspond mostly to single women, between 24 to 40 years old, who work in the field of education or the public sector and have work experience of more than ten years; there is a positive relationship between job satisfaction and teleworking (r= 0.381), while for the variables work stress and work-life balance a negative relationship was observed (r= -0.408). Conclusion: Teleworking produces stress symptoms among workers, such as tension and/or anxiety. Nevertheless, workers have a positive attitude towards this modality, trying to adapt and seeking support from other people.

RESUMO A pandemia gerou várias mudanças que levaram as empresas a procurar estratégias para continuar os seus processos de produção e proteger a saúde dos trabalhadores; entre estas, a mais relevante é o Teletrabalho. Objetivo: Analisar as percepções dos trabalhadores chilenos sobre o impacto do teletrabalho em termos de Estresse no trabalho, Equilíbrio Vida-Trabalho e Satisfação, em um ambiente de contingência resultante da COVID-19. Material e Método: Pesquisa quantitativa, do tipo relacional e corte transversal utilizando amostragem de conveniência e obtendo dados de 225 trabalhadores chilenos que estavam realizando teletrabalho como resultado da COVID-19 e responderam ao questionário online. Foi utilizado um instrumento com 26 reativos, que foi aplicado a trabalhadores adultos que realizavam atividades desde casa, entre setembro e outubro de 2020, obtendo 181 respostas úteis. Resultados: Os trabalhadores que estão no modo telemático, correspondem maioritariamente a mulheres, solteiras, entre 24 e 40 anos, do campo educativo, do sector público e têm mais de dez anos de experiência de trabalho; existe uma relação positiva entre a satisfação profissional e o teletrabalho (r= 0,381), enquanto para as variáveis Estresse no trabalho e Equilíbrio Vida-Trabalho acontece o contrário, ou seja, uma relação negativa (r= -0,408). Conclusão: As atividades telemáticas produzem sintomas de estresse nos trabalhadores, tais como tensão e/ou ansiedade, mas apesar disso, têm uma atitude positiva em relação a esta mudança na modalidade de trabalho, tentando viver dia após dia e procurando formas de apoiar os outros.

Loss of T-Cell Multifunctionality and TCR-Vß Repertoire Against Epstein-Barr Virus Is Associated With Worse Prognosis and Clinical Parameters in HIV+ Patients.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an oncogenic virus associated with the development of aggressive and poor-prognosis B-cell lymphomas in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV+ patients). The most important risk factors for these malignancies include immune dysfunction, chronic immune activation, and loss of T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire. The combination of all these factors can favor the reactivation of EBV, malignant cell transformation, and clinical progression toward B-cell lymphomas. The overarching aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency, phenotype, functionality, and distribution of TCR clonotypes for EBV-specific T-cell subpopulations in HIV+ patients at different clinical stages and for HIV+ patients with B-cell lymphoma, as well as to establish their association with clinical variables of prognostic value. Factors were studied in 56 HIV+ patients at different clinical stages and in six HIV+ subjects with diagnosed B-cell lymphoma. We found a significant decrease in all subpopulations of EBV-specific CD4+ T cells from HIV+ patients at stage 3 and with B-cell lymphoma. EBV-specific effector CD8+ T cells, particularly effector memory cells, were also reduced in HIV+ patients with B-cell lymphoma. Interestingly, these cells were unable to produce IFN-γ and lacked multifunctionality in HIV+ patients. The TCR-Vß repertoire, which is key for protection against EBV in healthy individuals, was less diverse in HIV+ patients due to a lower frequency of TCR-Vß2+, Vß4+, Vß7.1+, Vß9+, Vß13.6+, Vß14+, Vß17+, Vß22+ CD4+, Vß14+, and Vß17+ CD8+ T cells. HIV+ patients with positive plasma EBV loads (EBV+HIV+) had a noteworthy decrease in the levels of both TNF-α+ and multifunctional TNF-α+/IL-2+ and TNF-α+/IFN-γ+ CD8+ T cells. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that HIV+ patients have significant alterations in the immune response to EBV (poor-quality immunity) that can favor viral reactivation, escalating the risk for developing EBV-associated B-cell lymphomas.

First report of sporadic cases of Candida auris in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Candida auris is a recently reported Candida species that is phenotypically similar to Candida haemulonii and related to hospital outbreaks. This organism can be misidentified as Candida haemulonii, Candida famata, Candida catenulata, or Rhodotorula glutinis by phenotypic approaches. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and DNA sequence analysis using internal transcribed spacer rDNA bar-coding provide an accurate identification. CASE REPORTS: Three cases of C. auris infection in patients with risk factors for fungal infection (one admitted to the intensive care unit, one with lymphoma, and one with HIV; all three with previous antibiotic use) are reported; these infections were not epidemiologically related. Yeast isolates were recovered from blood, ocular secretion, and bronchoalveolar lavage and were misidentified as C. catenulata and Candida albicans by the phenotypic MicroScan method. The isolates were confirmed to be C. auris by means of MALDI-TOF MS and DNA sequence analysis. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed on these C. auris isolates, which exhibited high minimum inhibitory concentrations to triazoles and amphotericin B. One patient survived and the other two died. Only one of these deaths was related to fungemia. CONCLUSIONS: C. auris is an emerging and opportunistic multidrug-resistant human pathogen. It is necessary to strengthen measures to achieve an accurate and quick identification and also to avoid its dissemination. This will require improvements in health and infection control measures, as well as the promotion of antifungal stewardship in healthcare facilities.

Neogenin-mediated hemojuvelin shedding occurs after hemojuvelin traffics to the plasma membrane.

HFE2 (hemochromatosis type 2 gene) is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and liver hepatocytes. Its encoded protein, hemojuvelin (HJV), is a co-receptor for the bone morphogenetic proteins 2 and 4 (BMP2 and BMP4) and enhances the BMP-induced hepcidin expression. Hepcidin is a central iron regulatory hormone predominantly secreted from hepatocytes. HJV also binds neogenin, a membrane protein widely expressed in many tissues. Neogenin is required for the processing and release of HJV from cells. The role that neogenin plays in HJV trafficking was investigated, using HepG2 cells, a human hepatoma cell line. Knockdown of endogenous neogenin markedly suppresses HJV release but has no evident effect on HJV trafficking to the plasma membrane. The addition of a soluble neogenin ectodomain to cells markedly inhibits HJV release, indicating that the HJV shedding is not processed before trafficking to the cell surface. At the plasma membrane it undergoes endocytosis in a dynamin-independent but cholesterol-dependent manner. The additional findings that HJV release is coupled to lysosomal degradation of neogenin and that cholesterol depletion by filipin blocks both HJV endocytosis and HJV release suggest that neogenin-mediated HJV release occurs after the HJV-neogenin complex is internalized from the cell surface.

Evidence that inhibition of hemojuvelin shedding in response to iron is mediated through neogenin.

Hemojuvelin (HJV), encoded by the gene HFE2, is a critical upstream regulator of hepcidin expression. Hepcidin, the central iron regulatory hormone, is secreted from hepatocytes, whereas HFE2 is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and liver. Previous studies demonstrated that HJV is a GPI-anchored protein, binds the proteins neogenin and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP2 and BMP4), and can be released from the cell membrane (shedding). In this study, we investigated the physiological significance and the underlying mechanism of HJV shedding. In acutely iron-deficient rats with markedly suppressed hepatic hepcidin expression, we detected an early phase increase of serum HJV with no significant change of either HFE2 mRNA or protein levels in gastrocnemius muscle. Studies in both C2C12 (a mouse myoblast cell line) and HepG2 (a human hepatoma cell line) cells showed active HJV shedding, implying that both skeletal muscle and liver could be the source of serum HJV. In agreement with the observations in iron-deficient rats, HJV shedding in these cell lines was down-regulated by holo-transferrin in a concentration-dependent manner. Our present study showing that knock-down of endogenous neogenin, a HJV receptor, in C2C12 cells suppresses HJV shedding and that overexpression of neogenin in HEK293 cells markedly enhances this process, suggests that membrane HJV shedding is mediated by neogenin. The finding that neither BMP4 nor its antagonist, noggin, was able to alter HJV shedding support the lack of involvement of BMP signaling pathway in this process.