ABSTRACT
Resumen El plástico se ha vuelto muy popular en los últimos años gracias a su durabilidad y propiedades. A pesar de sus múltiples ventajas, la humanidad ha desarrollado cierta dependencia hacia este material, lo que ha propiciado un incremento en su uso y, a su vez, en la generación de desechos ante el escaso hábito de reúso. Uno de los polímeros plásticos más usados es el poliestireno (PS), ya que este se usa en una amplia gama de aplicaciones gracias a su bajo costo y fácil producción. Sin embargo, pasado el tiempo de vida útil de este plástico, es considerado como desecho. El PS al estar expuesto a condiciones atmosféricas como la radiación UV, se fragmenta dando como resultado la creación de microplásticos (MP), mismos que son pequeñas partículas que no sobrepasan los 5 mm, lo que representa una amenaza al medio ambiente pues, al degradarse, las propiedades decaen, se genera un cambio dimensional y, además, pueden ser fácilmente transportadas no solo al medio ambiente, sino también a los organismos. Este artículo de revisión se enfoca en evidenciar las principales rutas que siguen los MP al interaccionar con los seres humanos y los efectos potenciales de los PS-MP en el citoesqueleto, así como en resaltar la necesidad de más estudios al respecto.
Abstract Plastic has become very popular in recent years due to its durability and properties. Despite its many advantages, humanity has developed a certain dependence on this material, which represents an increase in its use and in turn, in waste. One of the most widely used plastic polymers is the polystyrene (PS), as is used in a wide range of applications due to its low cost and easy production, although after the useful life of the plastic, it is considered as waste. When plastic is exposure to atmospheric conditions such as UV radiation, it degrades and fragments giving rise to microplastics (MPs), which are defined as small particles that do not exceed 5 mm, representing a threat to the environment because when they degrade the properties decay, a dimensional change is generated and they can also be easily transported not only to the environment but also to organisms. This review article focuses on highlighting the main pathways that MPs follow when interacting with humans and the potential effects of PS-MPs on the cytoskeleton, as well as highlighting the need for more studies in this regard.
ABSTRACT
La soledad es un factor social que afecta a personas de todas las edades, perjudicando su salud y aumentando la utilización de servicios sociosanitarios. Su abordaje requiere una perspectiva comunitaria integral, ya que es un sentimiento subjetivo con consecuencias complejas en la salud y en el bienestar. En una sociedad envejecida, la soledad se convierte en un problema de salud pública significativo, especialmente entre las personas mayores. Por ello, este estudio se centra en los servicios de ayuda en el hogar (Servicio de Axuda no Fogar, SAF) en Galicia y su papel en la lucha contra la soledad, con el objetivo de comprender este sentimiento entre las personas usuarias del SAF y recopilar sus opiniones para entender cómo abordarla y diseñar estrategias intersectoriales y participativas que permitan ayudar a disminuirla. Los resultados iniciales muestran que más del 50% de los usuarios del SAF se sienten solos. A través de la elaboración de un cuestionario propio y de mediciones utilizando la escala de soledad UCLA, el estudio destaca la importancia de la colaboración comunitaria y la necesidad de difundir los resultados para orientar intervenciones futuras. Se concluye que los SAF tienen un potencial significativo para mejorar el bienestar de los usuarios y abordar la soledad, un factor social determinante de la salud. (AU)
Loneliness is a social factor that impacts individuals of all ages, impairing their health and increasing the use of socio-health services. Tackling this requires a comprehensive community perspective, as it is a subjective feeling with complex consequences for health and well-being. In an aging society, loneliness becomes a significant public health issue, especially among the elderly. Therefore, this study focuses on Home Help Services (SAF) in Galicia and their role in responding to loneliness. The main aim is to understand this feeling among SAF users, gather their opinions on how to tackle this, and devise intersectoral and participatory strategies to reduce loneliness. Initial results reveal that over 50% of SAF users feel lonely. By means of a customized questionnaire and measurements using the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the study underscores the importance of community collaboration and the need to disseminate results to guide future interventions. It is concluded that SAF has significant potential to improve user well-being and tackle loneliness, a decisive social factor on health. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Loneliness , Community Participation , Primary Health Care , Aging , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Organs transplanted across donor-specific HLA antibodies (DSA) are associated with a variety of clinical outcomes, including a high risk of acute kidney graft rejection. Unfortunately, the currently available assays to determine DSA characteristics are insufficient to clearly discriminate between potentially harmless and harmful DSA. To further explore the hazard potential of DSA, their concentration and binding strength to their natural target, using soluble HLA, may be informative. There are currently a number of biophysical technologies available that allow the assessment of antibody binding strength. However, these methods require prior knowledge of antibody concentrations. Our objective within this study was to develop a novel approach that combines the determination of DSA-affinity as well as DSA-concentration for patient sample evaluation within one assay. We initially tested the reproducibility of previously reported affinities of human HLA-specific monoclonal antibodies and assessed the technology-specific precision of the obtained results on multiple platforms, including surface plasmon resonance (SPR), bio-layer interferometry (BLI), Luminex (single antigen beads; SAB), and flow-induced dispersion analysis (FIDA). While the first three (solid-phase) technologies revealed comparable high binding-strengths, suggesting measurement of avidity, the latter (in-solution) approach revealed slightly lower binding-strengths, presumably indicating measurement of affinity. We believe that our newly developed in-solution FIDA-assay is particularly suitable to provide useful clinical information by not just measuring DSA-affinities in patient serum samples but simultaneously delivering a particular DSA-concentration. Here, we investigated DSA from 20 pre-transplant patients, all of whom showed negative CDC-crossmatch results with donor cells and SAB signals ranging between 571 and 14899 mean fluorescence intensity (MFI). DSA-concentrations were found in the range between 11.2 and 1223 nM (median 81.1 nM), and their measured affinities fall between 0.055 and 24.7 nM (median 5.34 nM; 449-fold difference). In 13 of 20 sera (65%), DSA accounted for more than 0.1% of total serum antibodies, and 4/20 sera (20%) revealed a proportion of DSA even higher than 1%. To conclude, this study strengthens the presumption that pre-transplant patient DSA consists of various concentrations and different net affinities. Validation of these results in a larger patient cohort with clinical outcomes will be essential in a further step to assess the clinical relevance of DSA-concentration and DSA-affinity.