Low energy Ne ion beam induced-modifications of magnetic properties in MnAs thin films.

Investigations of the complex behavior of the magnetization of manganese arsenide thin films due to defects induced by irradiation of slow heavy ions are presented. In addition to the thermal hysteresis suppression already highlighted in Trassinelli et al (2014 Appl. Phys. Lett. 104 081906), we report here on new local magnetic features recorded by a magnetic force microscope at different temperatures close to the characteristic sample phase transition. Complementary measurements of the global magnetization in different conditions (applied magnetic field and temperatures) enable the film characterization to be completed. The obtained results suggest that the ion bombardment produces regions where the local mechanical constraints are significantly different from the average, promoting the local presence of magneto-structural phases far from the equilibrium. These regions could be responsible for the thermal hysteresis suppression previously reported, irradiation-induced defects acting as seeds in the phase transition.

Shoulder strength imbalances as injury risk in handball.

This study was conducted to analyze whether internal (IR) and external (ER) rotator shoulder muscles weakness and/or imbalance collected through a preseason assessment could be predictors of subsequent shoulder injury during a season in handball players. In preseason, 16 female elite handball players (HPG) and 14 healthy female nonathletes (CG) underwent isokinetic IR and ER strength test with use of a Con-Trex® dynamometer in a seated position with 45° shoulder abduction in scapular plane, at 60, 120 and 240°/s in concentric and at 60°/s in eccentric, for both sides. An imbalanced muscular strength profile was determined using -statistically selected cut-offs from CG values. For HPG, all newly incurred shoulder injuries were reported during the season. There were significant differences between HPG and CG only for dominant eccentric IR strength, ER/IR ratio at 240°/s and for IRecc/ERcon ratio. In HPG, IR and ER strength was higher, and ER/IR ratios lower for dominant than for nondominant side. The relative risk was 2.57 (95%CI: 1.60-3.54; P<0.05) if handball players had an imbalanced muscular strength profile. In youth female handball players IR and ER muscle strength increases on the dominant side without ER/IR imbalances; and higher injury risk was associated with imbalanced muscular strength profile.

Errores innatos del metabolismo intermediario. Propuesta de guía diagnóstica de urgencias en un hospital comarcal / Inborn errors of intermediary metabolism: proposed emergency diagnostic guide for an area hospital

Los errores innatos del metabolismo (EIM) son enfermedades raras de diagnóstico difícil. Los EIM intermediario suelen manifestarse en los primeros días o meses de vida con clínica de descompensación metabólica tipo intoxicación. Una adecuada recogida de muestras biológicas (fundamentalmente sangre y orina) en dicha situación es clave para llegar al diagnóstico final. En el presente trabajo se resumen los principales datos clínicos y analíticos sugestivos de EIM intermediario. Asimismo ,se indican los métodos adecuados de recogida de las muestras analíticas(AU)

Inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) are rare illnesses which are difficult to diagnose. Inborn errors of intermediary metabolism generally reveal themselves in the first days of life with clinical signs of intoxication-type metabolic imbalance. Proper taking of biological samples (basically blood and urine) is of key importance to reaching a final diagnosis. This paper summarises the main clinical and analytical data pointing to inborn errors of intermediary metabolism. It also indicates suitable methods for taking the analytical samples(AU)

Characterization of single-nucleotide-polymorphism markers for Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of grapevine downy mildew.

We report 34 new nuclear single-nucleotide-polymorphism (SNP) markers that have been developed from an expressed sequence tag library of Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of grapevine downy mildew. This newly developed battery of markers will provide useful additional genetic tools for population genetic studies of this important agronomic species.

El paradigma inmune Th1-Th2: un vínculo entre obesidad, aterosclerosis y diabetes mellitus / The Th1-Th2 immune paradigm: a link among obesity, atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus

Recientemente ha llamado la atención la asociación entre inflamación crónica de baja intensidad --evidenciada como elevación de la proteína C reactiva (PCR)-- y obesidad, aterosclerosis y diabetes mellitus. Hay evidencia de que esta asociación se debe a una desregulación de la respuesta inmune de linfocitos T cooperadores tipos 1 y 2, orientada hacia un perfil proinflamatorio, con aumento en la producción de interleucina (IL) 6 y de otras citocinas, como el factor de necrosis tumoral alfa, la IL-1-ß y el interferón-gamma. Esta desregulación de la respuesta inmune tiene un papel fisiopatológico crucial en la obesidad, la enfermedad aterosclerótica y la diabetes mellitus. Asimismo, podría ser el origen de las anomalías observadas en el síndrome metabólico, como la resistencia a la insulina, la hiperglucemia y la dislipidemia, debido a los efectos de las citocinas involucradas sobre el metabolismo. El conocimiento de estos mecanismos proporcionará un mejor entendimiento de la fisiopatología de las enfermedades crónicas degenerativas y puede ser la base para el planteamiento de nuevas estrategias preventivas y terapéuticas (AU)

An association between elevated C-reactive protein related to low-intensity chronic inflammation and chronic disease (obesity, atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus) has been the focus of recent attention. A growing body of knowledge indicates that this association is due to disregulation of the Th1-Th2 immune response, with increased production of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-*, IL1-ß, IFN-* and IL-6. Such an abnormality plays a key physiopathologic role in the development of obesity, atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus. Moreover, this proinflammatory disregulation of the immune response can lead to the insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia that characterize the metabolic syndrome due to the metabolic effects of the cytokines involved. The study of these mechanisms will promote better understanding of the physiopathology of chronic diseases and could be useful for the development of new preventive and therapeutic strategies (AU)

[Impact of olanzapine on quality of life of patients with schizophrenia: one-year follow-up with the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire]. / Impacto de la olanzapina sobre la calidad de vida en pacientes con esquizofrenia: seguimiento a un año con el Cuestionario Sevilla de Calidad de Vida.

INTRODUCTION: Our objective is to present the impact on quality of life of long-term olanzapine treatment in a significant number of schizophrenics as determined by the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire (SQLQ), an instrument that addresses the aspects that particularly affect these patients, and to evaluate the sensitivity of this instrument to the changes induced by this treatment. METHODS: Three hundred and seventy two patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia as per the ICD-10 classification were evaluated in a 1 year prospective study after switching to olanzapine. The SQLQ, Lehman's structured interview and short version of the discapacity assessment scale were used to evaluate patient's subjective experience; in addition, other instruments were used to evaluate psychopathology. RESULTS: Significant increases in the scores of the favorable scale and decreases in the unfavorable scale of the SQLQ were found. There were also significant improvements in quality of life as measured with Lehman's structured interview. This improvement continued until the end of the 1 year follow-up after switching to olanzapine. Both instruments show a good correlation. Changes in psychopathology were also remarkable, including the negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The SQLQ has proven to be a sensitive instrument to measure quality of life in schizophrenic patients treated with olanzapine. It focuses on aspects that are relevant for patients that were frequently overlooked by treating physicians. This drug has been proven to have a favorable subjective impact upon patients, besides improving psychopathology.

Impacto de la olanzapina sobre la calidad de vida en pacientes con esquizofrenia: seguimiento a un año con el Cuestionario Sevilla de Calidad de vida / Impact of olanzapine on quality of life of patients with schizophrenia: one year follow-up with the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire

Introducción. Nuestro objetivo es presentar el impacto sobre la calidad de vida del tratamiento a largo plazo con olanzapina en un número importante de pacientes esquizofrénicos, medido con el Cuestionario Sevilla de Calidad de Vida (CSCV), un instrumento que recoge los aspectos que afectan especialmente a estos pacientes, y evaluar la sensibilidad de este instrumento a los cambios inducidos por este tratamiento. Métodos. Se evaluaron 372 pacientes diagnosticados de esquizofrenia según la clasificación CIE-10 en un estudio prospectivo de 1 año después de cambiar a olanzapina. Para evaluar la experiencia subjetiva se utilizaron el CSCV, la entrevista estructurada de Lehman y la versión abreviada de la escala de evaluación de la discapacidad; además se utilizaron otros instrumentos para evaluar la psicopatología. Resultados. Se observaron aumentos significativos en las puntuaciones de la escala favorable y reducciones significativas en las puntuaciones de la escala desfavorable del CSCV. También se observó una mejoría significativa en la calidad de vida medida con la entrevista estructurada de Lehman. Esta mejoría continuó hasta el final del seguimiento 1 año después del cambio a olanzapina: Ambos instrumentos muestran una buena correlación. Los cambios en la psicopatología también fueron considerables, incluyendo los síntomas negativos. Conclusiones. El CSCV ha demostrado ser un instrumento sensible para medir la calidad de vida en pacientes esquizofrénicos tratados con olanzapina. Se centra en los aspectos que son importantes para los pacientes y que los médicos frecuentemente han pasado por alto. Este fármaco ha demostrado tener un impacto subjetivo favorable en los pacientes además de mejorar la psicopatología (AU)

Tirotoxicosis intraoperatoria en una paciente no diagnosticada de hipertiroidismo sometida a cirugía abdominal / Intraopertisve thyrotoxicosis in a woman of childbearing age

No disponible

Ventilación selectiva a través de traqueostomía en un paciente con mediastinitis y angina de ludwig / Selective ventilation through a tracheostomy in patient with Ludwig's angina and mediastinitis

No disponible

Sustained attention in a counting task: normal performance and functional neuroanatomy.

We examined changes in relative cerebral flood flow (relCBF) using PET during a sustained attention paradigm which included auditory stimulation and different tasks of mental counting. Ten normal volunteers underwent PET (15O water) during a baseline state and under experimental conditions which included listening to clicks, serial counting with auditory stimulation, counting with no auditory stimulation, and an additional component of working memory and time estimation. All subjects performed within normal limits in a battery of neurocognitive tests, which included measures of attention and working memory. Both counting with auditory stimulation and counting with no auditory stimulation engaged motor cortex, putamen, cerebellum, and anterior cingulate. Furthermore, counting with no auditory stimulation relative to counting while listening resulted in significantly increased relCBF in the inferior parietal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and anterior cingulate. The findings obtained in this study support the notion that the parietal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are involved when time estimation and working memory are taking part in a task requiring sustained attention.

[Small renal mass. Diagnostic management]. / Masa renal pequeña. Manejo diagnóstico.

OBJECTIVE: The detection of renal masses < 3 cm has continually increased over the last few years due to the improvements and wide use of imaging techniques that have made early diagnosis of renal carcinoma possible and therefore to directly influence patient survival. The approach to small renal lesions based on our experience and the data published in the literature are analyzed. METHODS/RESULTS: The small renal lesion is problematic and indeterminate because of its size, which makes it difficult to measure its density before and after contrast administration on CT assessment, and is the main diagnostic factor in this disease. Small renal masses constitute a diagnostic challenge whose resolution may lead to disproportionate surgery. This has led us to utilize multiphasic helical CT with specific protocols and to look for data in the natural history of the renal tumor to complement the radiological findings. Series have been published that demonstrate that the slow growth and degree of malignancy of small renal tumors warrant a regular helical CT control evaluation because it allows comparison of the findings and detects growths > 1 cm, which is a sign of malignancy and consequently an indication for surgery. CONCLUSION: Due to the natural course of small renal tumors and the reproducibility of multiphasic CT, the correct approach is to perform close follow-up of patients at surgical risk or with an equivocal diagnosis using this imaging technique.

[Subjective experience and quality of life in schizophrenia]. / Experiencia subjetiva y calidad de vida en la esquizofrenia.

The term quality of life has been gradually introduced in the field of Psychiatry. This term tries to integrate not only the symptoms in Psychiatric patients, but also other aspects, like individual perceptions, personal expectations, degree of independence, etc., in order to achieve a global understanding of the patient. The are few studies on quality of life in schizophrenia, especially there is a lack of self assessment scales that the patients can fill out about themselves and their psychological environment. The Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire tries to evaluate the subjective experience of patients with schizophrenia about their illness. The Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire also checks the presence or absence of groups of patients with schizophrenia with a better or worst quality of life. We have assessed 222 subjects that meet ICD-10 criteria diagnostic for schizophrenia, with the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale specific psychopathology scale and the AMDP system general psychopathology scale. Our results show two clearly differentiate groups: one with better (Group 2: 108 patients) and one with worse (Group 1: 81 patients) quality of life. However, 33 patients could not be included in any of the two groups. In the worse quality of life group the most prominent factors were: lack of cognitive grasp, perplexity, fear of loss of control, and contained hostility. These four factors have a great influence on the worse quality of life. When we compare the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire data with several the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale scores, we saw that the group of worse quality of life presents higher scores on both Negative and Positive Symptoms of schizophrenia, and also in the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale general psychopathology scale. In the AMDP system general psychopathology scale we saw three groups of significant symptoms in the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire: 1. Difficult relationships with the external world, 2. Difficulty to understand what it happening (loss of associations); and 3. Affective alterations (ambivalence).Finally, these data suggests that it is probable that the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire could be able to build a typology of patients with schizophrenia more centred in their pathology that in their psychophatology.

Experiencia subjetiva y calidad de vida en la esquizofrenia / Illness experience and quality of life in schizophrenia

El término calidad de vida ha ido introduciéndose paulatinamente en el campo de la Psiquiatría, intentando integrar en los enfermos mentales, además de la sintomatología, aspectos como las percepciones individuales, las expectativas personales, nivel de independencia, etc., con el propósito de conocer mejor a estos pacientes. En el campo de la esquizofrenia son escasos los estudios realizados sobre calidad de vida, especialmente las escalas que se ocupan de conocer la valoración subjetiva que el enfermo realiza de sí mismo y de su ambiente psicológico. El Cuestionario Sevilla de Calidad de Vida intenta evaluar la experiencia subjetiva del enfermo esquizofrénico sobre su enfermedad y comprobar la presencia o no de agrupaciones de enfermos esquizofrénicos según predomine una mejor o peor calidad de vida. Hemos utilizado una muestra de 222 sujetos, que cumplen criterios diagnósticos CIE-10 para esquizofrenia, a los que hemos aplicado el Cuestionario Sevilla de Calidad de Vida, la exploración psicopatológica específica de la Escala de los Síndromes Positivos y Negativos y la psicopatol general del sistema de la Asociación para la Metodología y la Documentación en Psiquiatría. A través de los resultados apreciamos claramente dos grupos diferenciales de mejor (Grupo 2: 108 enfermos) y peor (Grupo 1: 81 enfermos) calidad de vida y 33 enfermos que no han podido ser incluidos en ninguno de los dos grupos. En el grupo de peor calidad de vida los factores más destacables son: falta de aprehensión cognitiva, extrañamiento, miedo a la pérdida de control y hostilidad contenida, siendo estos cuatro factores los que más impactan sobre la peor calidad de vida. En relación con los datos de calidad de vida obtenidos al comparar estos con las diferentes puntuaciones de la Escala de los Síndromes Positivos y Negativos apreciamos que el grupo de peor calidad de vida presenta una mayor puntuación tanto en el Síndrome Negativo, como en el Síndrome Positivo de la esquizofrenia y en la escala de psicopatología general de la Escala de los Síndromes Positivos y Negativos. En el sistema de exploración psicopatológica de la Asociación para la Metodología y la Documentación en Psiquiatría se observan tres agrupaciones de síntomas significativos en la calidad de vida que se muestran en forma de: 1. Dificultades de relación con el mundo exterior y 2. Dificultad para entender lo que ocurre (pérdida de las asociaciones); y 3. Alteraciones de la afectividad (ambivalencia).Junto a estos datos se sugiere que es probable que el Cuestionario Sevilla de Calidad de Vida puede resultar capaz de construir una tipología del paciente esquizofrénico más centrada en su patología que en su psicopatología (AU)

[Prevalence of eating disorders in a representative sample of female adolescents from Navarra (Spain)]. / Prevalencia de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en las adolescentes navarras.

BACKGROUND: In spite of the social concern about eating disorders (ED), information of its prevalence in Spain is limited. Further studies in communities are needed to estimate the frequency of this problem in representative samples of the population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: To estimate the prevalence of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and partial syndromes of the "non specified eating disorders" (NOSED) type, a representative sample of the female population of Navarre was selected using a random multistage sampling scheme. A sample of 2862 participants aged 12 to 21 was studied. The screening procedure was performed using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) (values over 30 as the cutoff point) and each diagnosis was confirmed using a semi-structured interview performed by a psychiatry according to DSM-IV criteria. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of ED in this female population was 4.1% (95% CI: 3.45-4.95). The disorder specific prevalences being NOSED 3.1% (95% CI: 2.5-3.8), BN 0.8 (95% CI: 0.5-1.2) and AN 0.3 (95% CI: 0.1-0.6). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a slight lower prevalence than what other Spanish authors have reported, although we found higher prevalences of incomplete syndromes and suggest that a high social burden does exist and primary prevention strategies are needed.