Sports facilities, socio-economic context and overweight among the childhood population in two southern European cities: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate relationship between socio-economic environment and overweight in Madrid and Barcelona, adjusting for possible confounding factors. METHODS: We obtained three indicators which reflected socio-economic context, namely, unemployment rate, percentage of population with tertiary education, and percentage with a second home. The design is a cross sectional study. The association with overweight was estimated using odds ratios by multilevel logistic regression. The statistical analysis, data synthesis, or model creation was performed from the 2017. In all, 707 children from 21 districts of Madrid and 474 children from 10 districts of Barcelona were analysed. RESULTS: In Madrid, standardised ORs for personal and family characteristics were 1.17, 1.53 and 1.57 by reference to unemployment rate and percentages of population with a university education and second home. After adjustment, only the OR obtained with unemployment rate decreased, specifically by 58%. In Barcelona, the following ORs were obtained: 1.80 with unemployment rate; 1.80 with population having a university education; and 1.86 with population having a second home. After being standardised, these ORs decreased by 14% in the case of unemployment rate, 10% in the case of population with a university education, and 9% in the case of population with a second home. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight displayed a risk gradient in Madrid and Barcelona alike. This risk of overweight is not accounted for by physical inactivity and could, in part, be due to the availability of sports facilities.

Socio-economic environment, area facilities and obesity and physical inactivity among children.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate whether the relationship between socio-economic environment and obesity and physical inactivity in children can be explained by household socio-economic position and area facilities. METHODS: Two indicators of the socio-economic context of neighbourhood of residence based on wealth and deprivation were estimated in a sample of 727 children and adolescents residents in Madrid (Spain). Multilevel logit models were used to calculate the relationship between each indicator and obesity and physical inactivity. RESULTS: After adjusting for household socio-economic position, obesity prevalence was 3.79 times higher among subjects living in deprived areas than among those living in non-deprived areas (CI: 1.95-7.34), and 2.38 higher among subjects living in less wealthy areas than in those living in wealthier areas (CI: 0.85-6.65). Adjustment for the availability of retail shops in subjects' neighbourhood of residence failed to change the magnitude of the association. Neither neighbourhood socio-economic context nor availability of sports facilities was related to physical inactivity. CONCLUSION: In the city of Madrid, socio-economic context of neighbourhood of residence shows an inverse relationship with obesity but not with physical inactivity among children. The relationship observed with obesity is not explained by the availability of area facilities.

Streptomycin affects the growth and photochemical activity of the alga Chlorella vulgaris.

Antibiotics are increasingly being used in human and veterinary medicine, as well as pest control in agriculture. Recently, their emergence in the aquatic environment has become a global concern. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of streptomycin on growth and photosynthetic activity of Chlorella vulgaris after 72h exposure. We found that growth, photosynthetic activity and the content of the D1 protein of photosystem II decreased. Analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence emission shows a reduction in the energy transfer between the antenna complex and reaction center. Also the activity of the oxygen evolution complex and electron flow between QA and QB were significantly reduced; in contrast, we found an increase in the reduction rate of the acceptor side of photosystem I. The foregoing can be attributed to the inhibition of the synthesis of the D1 protein and perhaps other coded chloroplast proteins that are part of the electron transport chain which are essential for the transformation of solar energy in the photosystems. We conclude that micromolar concentrations of streptomycin can affect growth and photosynthetic activity of Chlorella vulgaris. The accumulation of antibiotics in the environment can become an ecological problem for primary producers in the aquatic environment.

Congo red dye affects survival and reproduction in the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia. Effects of direct and dietary exposure.

Nearly 7 00000 tons of dyes are produced annually throughout the world. Azo dyes are widely used in the textile and paper industries due to their low cost and ease of application. Their extensive use results in large volumes of wastewater being discharged into aquatic ecosystems. Large volume discharges constitute a health risk since many of these dyes, such as Congo Red, are elaborated with benzidine, a known carcinogenic compound. Information regarding dye toxicity in aquatic ecosystems is limited. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Congo Red on survival and reproduction of Ceriodaphnia dubia. We determined the 48 h median lethal concentration (LC50) and evaluated the effects of sublethal concentrations in subchronic exposures by using as food either fresh algae or algae previously exposed to the dye. LC50 was 13.58 mg L-1. In subchronic assays, survival was reduced to 80 and 55 %, and fertility to 40 and 70 %, as compared to the control, in C. dubia fed with intoxicated cells or with the mix of intoxicated + fresh algae, respectively, so the quantity and type of food had a significant effect. We determined that Congo Red is highly toxic to C. dubia since it inhibits survival and fertility in concentrations exceeding 3 mg L-1. Our results show that this dye produces negative effects at very low concentrations. Furthermore, our findings warn of the risk associated with discharging dyes into aquatic environments. Lastly, the results emphasize the need to regulate the discharge of effluents containing azo dyes.

Socioeconomic position and childhood-adolescent weight status in rich countries: a systematic review, 1990-2013.

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is a major problem in rich countries due to its high prevalence and its harmful health consequences. An exploratory analysis conducted in the PubMed database highlighted that the number of papers published on the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and childhood-adolescent weight status had risen substantially with respect to an earlier review which had covered the period 1990-2005. METHODS: To describe the findings on the relationship between SEP and childhood-adolescent weight status in papers published in rich countries from 1990 through 2013, studies were identified in the following databases: PubMed; Web of Knowledge (WOK); PsycINFO; Global Health; and Embase. We included observational studies from the 27 richest OECD countries, which covered study populations aged 0 to 21 years, and used parental education, income and/or occupation as family SEP indicators. A total of 158 papers met the inclusion criteria and reported 134 bivariable and 90 multivariable analyses. RESULTS: Examination of the results yielded by the bivariable analyses showed that 60.4% of studies found an inverse relationship, 18.7% of studies did not found relationship, and 20.9% of studies found a relationship that varied depending on another variable, such as age, sex or ethnic group; the corresponding percentages in the multivariable analyses were 51.1, 20.0 and 27.8%, respectively. Furthermore, 1.1% found a positive relationship. CONCLUSION: The relationship between SEP and childhood-adolescent weight status in rich countries is predominantly inverse and the positive relationship almost has disappeared. The SEP indicator that yields the highest proportion of inverse relationships is parents' education. The proportion of inverse relationships is higher when the weight status is reported by parents instead using objective measurements.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy versus psychoeducational intervention in bipolar outpatients with sub-threshold depressive symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The presence of depressive subsyndromal symptoms (SS) in bipolar disorder (BD) increases the risk of affective relapse and worsens social, cognitive functioning, and quality of life. Nonetheless, there are limited data on how to optimize the treatment of subthreshold depressive symptoms in BD. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a psychotherapeutic intervention that has been shown effective in unipolar depression. The assessment of its clinical effectiveness and its impact on biomarkers in bipolar disorder patients with subsyndromal depressive symptoms and psychopharmacological treatment is needed. METHODS/DESIGN: A randomized, multicenter, prospective, versus active comparator, evaluator-blinded clinical trial is proposed. Patients with BD and subclinical or mild depressive symptoms will be randomly allocated to: 1) MBCT added to psychopharmacological treatment; 2) a brief structured group psychoeducational intervention added to psychopharmacological treatment; 3) standard clinical management, including psychopharmacological treatment. Assessments will be conducted at screening, baseline, post-intervention (8 weeks) and 4 month follow-up post-intervention. The aim is to compare MBCT intervention versus a brief structured group psychoeducation. Our hypothesis is that MBCT will be more effective in reducing the subsyndromal depressive symptoms and will improve cognitive performance to a higher degree than the psychoeducational treatment. It is also hypothesized that a significant increase of BDNF levels will be found after the MBCT intervention. DISCUSSION: This is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of MBCT compared to an active control group on depressive subthreshold depressive symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02133170. Registered 04/30/2014.

Risk behaviors and sports facilities do not explain socioeconomic differences in childhood obesity: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To assess whether the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic context of residence and childhood obesity is explained by family socioeconomic position, risk behaviors and availability of sports facilities. METHODS: Based on the income and educational level of residents in the neighborhoods of the city of Madrid, two indicators of socioeconomic context were calculated using the information about income and education and grouped into quartiles. In a sample of 727 children aged 6-15 years, the relationship of these indicators with overweight and obesity was studied using multilevel logit models. RESULTS: With respect to children and adolescents living in neighborhoods having higher per capita incomes or higher population percentages with university education those living in neighborhoods having lower per capita incomes or lower population percentages with university education had age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of overweight that were 1.84 (95% CI, 1.03-3.29) and 1.68 (0.95-2.94) times higher, respectively. After adjustment for family socioeconomic position, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, these ORs fell to 1.80 (0.99-3.29) and 1.56 (0.87-2.79), respectively. In the case of obesity, the age- and sex-adjusted ORs in these quartiles of both indicators of socioeconomic context were 3.35 (1.06-10.60) and 3.29 (1.03-10.52), respectively, rising to 3.77 (1.12-12.70) and 3.42 (1.00-11.68) after adjustment for the remaining variables. The highest OR was observed in the third quartile, except in the case of the relationship between per capita income and obesity. No relationship between the number of sport facilities per 1,000 population and physical inactivity was observed. CONCLUSION: The socioeconomic context is associated with obesity but not with overweight children in Madrid. The relationship is not explained by family socioeconomic position, risk behaviors and availability of sports facilities.

Physiological and biochemical responses of Chlorella vulgaris to Congo red.

Extensive use of synthetic dyes in many industrial applications releases large volumes of wastewater. Wastewaters from dying industries are considered hazardous and require careful treatment prior to discharge into receiving water bodies. Dyes can affect photosynthetic activities of aquatic flora and decrease dissolved oxygen in water. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Congo red on growth and metabolic activity of Chlorella vulgaris after 96h exposure. Exposure of the microalga to Congo red reduced growth rate, photosynthesis and respiration. Analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence emission showed that the donor side of photosystem II was affected at high concentrations of Congo red. The quantum yield for electron transport (φEo), the electron transport rate (ETR) and the performance index (PI) also decreased. The reduction in the ability to absorb and use the quantum energy increased non-photochemical (NPQ) mechanisms for thermal dissipation. Overall, Congo red affects growth and metabolic activity in photosynthetic organisms in aquatic environments.

Neurobiology of major depressive disorder.

We survey studies which relate abnormal neurogenesis to major depressive disorder. Clinically, descriptive gene and protein expression analysis and genetic and functional studies revised here show that individual alterations of a complex signaling network, which includes the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; the production of neurotrophins and growth factors; the expression of miRNAs; the production of proinflammatory cytokines; and, even, the abnormal delivery of gastrointestinal signaling peptides, are able to induce major mood alterations. Furthermore, all of these factors modulate neurogenesis in brain regions involved in MDD, and are functionally interconnected in such a fashion that initial alteration in one of them results in abnormalities in the others. We highlight data of potential diagnostic significance and the relevance of this information to develop new therapeutic approaches. Controversial issues, such as whether neurogenesis is the basis of the disease or whether it is a response induced by antidepressant treatments, are also discussed.

Advances in the knowledge and therapeutics of schizophrenia, major depression disorder, and bipolar disorder from human brain organoid research.

Tridimensional cultures of human induced pluripotent cells (iPSCs) experimentally directed to neural differentiation, termed "brain organoids" are now employed as an in vitro assay that recapitulates early developmental stages of nervous tissue differentiation. Technical progress in culture methodology enabled the generation of regionally specialized organoids with structural and neurochemical characters of distinct encephalic regions. The technical process of organoid elaboration is undergoing progressively implementation, but current robustness of the assay has attracted the attention of psychiatric research to substitute/complement animal experimentation for analyzing the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. Numerous morphological, structural, molecular and functional insights of psychiatric disorders have been uncovered by comparing brain organoids made with iPSCs obtained from control healthy subjects and psychiatric patients. Brain organoids were also employed for analyzing the response to conventional treatments, to search for new drugs, and to anticipate the therapeutic response of individual patients in a personalized manner. In this review, we gather data obtained by studying cerebral organoids made from iPSCs of patients of the three most frequent serious psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, major depression disorder, and bipolar disorder. Among the data obtained in these studies, we emphasize: (i) that the origin of these pathologies takes place in the stages of embryonic development; (ii) the existence of shared molecular pathogenic aspects among patients of the three distinct disorders; (iii) the occurrence of molecular differences between patients bearing the same disorder, and (iv) that functional alterations can be activated or aggravated by environmental signals in patients bearing genetic risk for these disorders.

Enhancing Phosphorus and Nitrogen Uptake in Maize Crops with Food Industry Biosolids and Azotobacter nigricans.

The problem of phosphorus and nitrogen deficiency in agricultural soils has been solved by adding chemical fertilizers. However, their excessive use and their accumulation have only contributed to environmental contamination. Given the high content of nutrients in biosolids collected from a food industry waste treatment plant, their use as fertilizers was investigated in Zea mays plants grown in sandy loam soil collected from a semi-desert area. These biosolids contained insoluble phosphorus sources; therefore, given the ability of Azotobacter nigricans to solubilize phosphates, this strain was incorporated into the study. In vitro, the suitable conditions for the growth of Z. mays plants were determined by using biosolids as a fertilizer and A. nigricans as a plant-growth-promoting microorganism; in vitro, the ability of A. nigricans to solubilize phosphates, fix nitrogen, and produce indole acetic acid, a phytohormone that promotes root formation, was also evaluated. At the greenhouse stage, the Z. mays plants fertilized with biosolids at concentrations of 15 and 20% (v/w) and inoculated with A. nigricans favored the development of bending strength plants, which was observed on the increased stem diameter (>13.5% compared with the negative control and >7.4% compared with the positive control), as well as a better absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen, the concentration of which increased up to 62.8% when compared with that in the control treatments. The interactions between plants and A. nigricans were observed via scanning electron microscopy. The application of biosolids and A. nigricans in Z. mays plants grown in greenhouses presented better development than when Z. mays plants were treated with a chemical fertilizer. The enhanced plant growth was attributed to the increase in root surface area.

Area-based socioeconomic environment, obesity risk behaviours, area facilities and childhood overweight and obesity: socioeconomic environment and childhood overweight.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate whether the relation between area-based socioeconomic environment and childhood obesity can be explained by household socioeconomic position, obesity-related risk behaviours and area facilities. METHODS: Two indicators of socioeconomic environment based on wealth and deprivation were estimated in a sample of 4529 Spanish children and adolescents in 2006. Multilevel logit models were used to calculate the relation between each indicator and obesity. RESULTS: After adjusting for socioeconomic position and risk behaviours, no relation was observed between wealth and overweight; however, obesity prevalence was 1.45 times higher in subjects living in areas with lower wealth than in those living in areas with higher wealth. After adjusting for these variables, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in subjects living in deprived areas was, respectively, 1.26 and 1.63 higher than in those living in non-deprived areas. There was a graded association between number of sports facilities and prevalence of physical inactivity, but no relation was found between the price of fruits and vegetables and frequency of consumption. CONCLUSION: The relation of socioeconomic environment with childhood obesity could not be explained by household socioeconomic position or obesity-related risk behaviours. Availability of sport facilities may mediate this relation.

Heterogeneity in the association between prediabetes categories and reduction on glomerular filtration rate in a 5-year follow-up.

Prediabetes and not just diabetes can cause kidney damage. This study assess the association of prediabetes with development of impaired renal function (IRF). We used data from PREDAPS prospective study a cohort of 1072 subjects with prediabetes and another cohort of 772 subjects without prediabetes were follow-up from 2012 to 2017. Prediabetes was defined according to American Association of Diabetes criteria. IRF was defined as having a glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Incidence rates of IRF in both cohorts and in different categories of prediabetes, based on impaired glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and/or fasting plasma glucose (FPG), were calculated. Hazard ratios (HR) for the association of the prediabetes with IRF, adjusting for potential confounders, were estimated by Cox regression models. Incidence rates of IRF per 100 person-years were 1.72 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34-2.21) and 1.79 (95%CI: 1.45-2.20) for those without and with prediabetes, respectively .The HR of IRF in subjects with prediabetes with respect to subjects without prediabetes was 0.76 (95% CI: 0. 54-1.07). Corresponding HRs for type of prediabetes was 0.68 (95%CI: 0.40-1.15) for those with both altered parameters, 0.68 (95%CI: 00.40-1.15) for those with only impaired HbA1c and 1.12 (95%CI: 0.68-1.85) for those with only impaired FPG. The present study reflects an overall trend towards a slightly decreased risk of IRF onset associated to prediabetes except for individuals with only isolated impaired FPG. Further studies are warranted to fully assess the renal progression of each group.

Multicomponent Exercise Program to Improve the Immediate Sequelae of COVID-19: A Prospective Study with a Brief Report of 2-Year Follow-Up.

COVID-19 placed teams of professionals in a hostile and unfamiliar environment where the lack of knowledge of its pathology led to the adaptation of programs used so far for other conditions to try to address the immediate sequelae of COVID-19 infection. That is why the aim of this study was to assess the effects of a multicomponent exercise program (MEP) in improving cardio-respiratory performance, health status, disability due to dyspnea, aerobic capacity and endurance, and the immediate sequelae of COVID-19. Thirty-nine patients referred from different hospital services were included in this study. An intervention of seven weeks with sessions twice a week was carried out, where patients underwent intervallic training sessions followed by strengthening exercises and individualized respiratory physiotherapy exercises. The results of this study show a significant improvement in cardio-respiratory performance, health status, disability due to dyspnea, and aerobic capacity and endurance after intervention; and an increase in health status and reduction in disability due to dyspnea at the 2-year follow-up. In addition, none of the patients had any adverse effects either pre-post treatment or at the 2-year follow-up. Individualized and monitored MEP in survivors of COVID-19 showed positive effects in a pre-post evaluation and the 2-year follow up, improving the immediate sequelae of post-COVID-19 patients. This highlights the importance of the professional background of the rehabilitation teams in adapting to an unknown clinical environment.

Emergence in Spain of a multidrug-resistant Enterobacter cloacae clinical isolate producing SFO-1 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase.

Between February 2006 and October 2009, 38 patients in different wards at the A Coruña University Hospital (northwest Spain) were either infected with or colonized by an epidemic, multidrug-resistant (MDR), and extended-spectrum-ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strain of Enterobacter cloacae (EbSF), which was susceptible only to carbapenems. Semiautomated repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis revealed that all of the E. cloacae isolates belonged to the same clone. Cloning and sequencing enabled the detection of the SFO-1 ESBL in the epidemic strain and the description of its genetic environment. The presence of the ampR gene was detected upstream of bla(SFO-1), and two complete sequences of IS26 surrounding ampR and ampA were detected. These IS26 sequences are bordered by complete left and right inverted repeats (IRL and IRR, respectively), which suggested that they were functional. The whole segment flanked by two IS26 copies may be considered a putative large composite transposon. A gene coding for aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (gentamicin resistance gene [aac3]) was found downstream of the 3' IS26. Despite the implementation of strict infection control measures, strain EbSF spread through different areas of the hospital. A case-control study was performed to assess risk factors for EbSF acquisition. A multivariate analysis revealed that the prior administration of ß-lactam antibiotics, chronic renal failure, tracheostomy, and prior hospitalization were statistically associated with SFO-1-producing E. cloacae acquisition. This study describes for the first time an outbreak in which an SFO-1-producing E. cloacae strain was involved. Note that so far, this ß-lactamase has previously been isolated in only a single case of E. cloacae infection in Japan.

Development of an alarm management system to manage those alarms occurred during the illness prevention and management inside and outside the hospital environment.

A great amount of information is available to be exploited thanks to the use of information technologies. However, the systems that analyze this data lack the ability to alert the right clinical staff to important events, having some of the latest developments centered on the possibility of sending events from specific areas. The following system tries to solve these dependencies and offers a unique system capable of analyzing any data source and communicates the alarms through different means in an effective way.

Implementation of a Mindfulness-Based Crisis Intervention for Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Outbreak in a Public General Hospital in Madrid, Spain.

Introduction: The COVID-19 outbreak is having an impact on the well-being of healthcare workers. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown effectiveness in reducing stress and fostering resilience and recovery in healthcare workers. There are no studies examining the feasibility of brief mindfulness-based interventions during the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and Methods: This is an exploratory study with a post intervention assessment. We describe an on-site brief mindfulness intervention and evaluate its helpfulness, safety, and feasibility. Results: One thousand out of 7,000 (14%) healthcare workers from La Paz University Hospital in Madrid (Spain) participated in at least one session. One hundred and fifty out of 1,000 (15%) participants filled out a self-report questionnaire evaluating the helpfulness of the intervention for on-site stress reduction. Ninety two subjects (61%) participated in more than one session. Most of the participants were women (80%) with a mean age of 38.6 years. Almost half of the sample were nurses (46%). Sessions were perceived as being helpful with a mean rating of 8.4 on a scale from 0 to 10. Only 3 people (2%) reported a minor adverse effect (increased anxiety or dizziness). Discussion: Our data supports the utility, safety and feasibility of an on-site, brief mindfulness-based intervention designed to reduce stress for frontline health workers during a crisis. There is a need to continue testing this type of interventions, and to integrate emotion regulation strategies as an essential part of health workers' general training. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT04555005.

Rapid and simple determination of ciprofloxacin resistance in clinical strains of Escherichia coli.

We recently reported a simple new in situ diffusion assay, developed as a kit, to visualize DNA fragmentation in single bacterial cells. Use of this assay in a collection of 95 genetically unrelated Escherichia coli clinical strains resulted in correct identification of all of the isolates as resistant or susceptible to ciprofloxacin, consistent with the MIC results. This relevant information is obtained in 80 min.

Comparison of different methods of determining beta-lactam susceptibility in clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

One hundred and one randomly selected (2003-2005) clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used to assess the quantitative (MIC) and qualitative (susceptibility category) agreement between the microdilution broth reference method (RM) and disc diffusion (DD), Etest and the VITEK 2 automated susceptibility test system for determination of the susceptibility of P. aeruginosa to piperacillin (PIP), PIP-tazobactam (TZP), ceftazidime (CAZ), aztreonam (ATM) cefepime (FEP) and imipenem (IMP). The results obtained by the RM were compared with those obtained by the other methods. The RM and DD were performed according to CLSI criteria. Etest and VITEK 2 were according to the manufacturer's instructions. The Advanced Expert System (AES), which interprets MICs generated by VITEK 2, was modified with new rules of interpretation. Overall, VITEK 2 showed the lowest MIC90 values for the six antibiotics. The RM categorical testing (susceptibility and resistance) rates with P. aeruginosa were 11.8 and 88.1 for PIP, 22.7 and 77.2 for TZP, 14.8 and 78.2 for CAZ, 12.8 and 54.4 for ATM, 16.8 and 75.3 for FEP, and 7.9 and 90.1 for IMP, respectively. Very major errors (false susceptible) were only detected for ATM and FEP with DD and for IMP with three methods. Major errors (false resistant) were generally acceptable for all antibiotics except TZP. VITEK 2 yielded a high level of minor errors (trends toward false susceptibility), mainly with CAZ and FEP. A good agreement was obtained for all antibiotics/methods assayed, thus highlighting the importance of the AES for categorization of beta-lactam susceptibility in P. aeruginosa.