Impact of sex on clinical and laboratory parameters in patients with heart failure: insights from the Colombian Heart Failure Registry (RECOLFACA).

INTRODUCTION: Heart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study aimed to assess the impact of sex on sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters in patients with HF who were included in the Colombian Heart Failure Registry (RECOLFACA). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional analytical research. All 2528 patients included in RECOLFACA were analysed. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare median values as well as first and third quartiles (Q1-Q3). The age-related trend of NT-proBNP levels for both men and women groups was statistically evaluated. RESULTS: The study included 2528 patients with HF (1072 women and 1456 men). The echocardiographic evidence showed that men presented reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (79.63 vs. 69.75%, respectively; p < 0.001) more often than women, which had a significantly higher proportion of preserved LVEF (20.46 vs.11.24%, respectively; p < 0.001). Women displayed a higher value of systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) and heart rate (p = 0.014) compared to men. Haemoglobin, creatinine, and sodium levels were significantly higher in men. Men had a considerably lower glomerular filtration rate value, with the median reaching a G3a value for chronic renal failure. According to age, the levels of NT-proBNP in each sex increased equivalently with age. CONCLUSION: Sex differences presented in this study are comparable to those discovered in other nations. However, certain variations show that these sex differences may differ by geographical area, which should encourage further investigations to describe them.

Eligibility of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Insights from the Colombian heart failure registry (RECOLFACA).

Background: The value of Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2 inhibitor) therapy in individuals with heart failure with preserved EF (HFpEF) was unknown until the EMPEROR-Preserved trial. We aimed to assess the proportion of patients with HFpEF that are eligible for empagliflozin therapy within the Colombian Heart Failure Registry (RECOLFACA). Methods: RECOLFACA enrolled adult patients with a HF diagnosis during 2017-2019 from 60 medical centers in Colombia. Criteria of the EMPEROR-Preserved Trial were used to recruit participants. The main outcome was individual eligibility with N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) criteria, while the secondary outcome was eligibility without NT-proBNP data. Results: RECOLFACA had 799 patients with HFpEF (mean age70.7 ± 13.5; 50.7 % males). According to the major selection criteria of the EMPEROR Preserved Trial, 73.7 % patients would be eligible for empagliflozin therapy initiation when considering the NT-proBNP threshold. The NT-proBNP threshold represented the main determinant of ineligibility in patients with this biomarker measure (13.6 %; n = 16). In patients without NT-proBNP data, the main reasons for exclusion were the diagnosis of symptomatic hypotension or a systolic blood pressure below 100 mmHg (7.5 %), having an eGFR < 20 ml/min/1.73 m2 (4.3 %), and haemoglobin < 9 g/dl (3.1 %). Excluding NT-proBNP criteria increased empagliflozin eligibility to 80.6 %. Conclusion: Most patients with HFpEF from RECOLFACA are potential candidates for empagliflozin therapy initiation according to the EMPEROR-Preserved trial criteria. These findings favor the utilization of SGLT-2 inhibitor medications in daily medical practice, which may further decrease morbidity and mortality in HF patients, regardless of their EF classification.

Advances of native and non-native Antarctic species to in vitro conservation: improvement of disinfection protocols.

Plants that inhabit Antarctica have raised scientific interest due to their resilience to climate change, abiotic tolerance mechanisms and potential biological applications. In vitro propagation is useful for conservation, genetic material availability of these species and avoiding mass collection in their habitat. In vitro culture protocols for the native plants Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica and the non-native Juncus bufonius have been affected by endophytic microorganisms that proliferate when introduced to tissue cultures. This study evaluated the microbicidal and phytotoxic effect of calcium hypochlorite (Ca(ClO)2), silver nitrate (AgNO3) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and their use at different concentrations for different time periods. The Ca(ClO)2 at 100 mg mL-1 showed the best microbial contamination control in D. antarctica (applied for 20 min) and for the three C. quitensis populations (applied for 15 min). In J. bufonius, AgNO3 at 10 mg mL-1 for 10 min reduced the microbial growth, but oxidative damage was generated. AgNPs did not prevent contamination or have adverse effects on tissues. Survival plantlets from each treatment, population or species were effectively introduced to the tissue culture and their propagation was successful. These results constitute a fundamental advance for the introduction, propagation and conservation of Antarctic species and their use in scientific research.

Evolución de un sistema de gestión de seguridad y salud en el trabajo e impacto en la accidentalidad laboral: estudio de caso en empresas del sector petroquímico en Colombia / Progress of an occupational health and safety management system that impacts workplace accidents: case study of petrochemical companies in Colombia

INTRODUCCIÓN: La adopción de sistemas para la gestión de la salud y seguridad en el trabajo trata de responder a las demandas y presiones de los entes regulatorios, empleadores y trabajadores para garantizar un ambiente de trabajo seguro previniendo los accidentes y reduciendo el número de lesionados. OBJETIVO: analizar el impacto en la accidentalidad laboral que tiene la implementación de un sistema de gestión de seguridad y salud en el trabajo bajo el estándar OHSAS 18001. MÉTODO: se recopilaron los datos de la accidentalidad de cuatro empresas del sector petroquímico, tres años antes y después de la certificación en la norma OHSAS, y se realizó una revisión documental y una entrevista al responsable de seguridad y salud en el trabajo para observar el grado de evolución del sistema de gestión a partir de seis elementos: política, identificación de peligros, objetivos y programas, control operacional, medición del desempeño e investigación de accidentes. RESULTADOS: en relación con los índices de frecuencia, severidad y lesiones incapacitantes de los accidentes, de las cuatro empresas analizadas, no presentan una tendencia clara de disminución en los tres años posteriores a la certificación. Sin embargo, el reporte de observaciones si aumentó en tres de las empresas estudiadas. CONCLUSIÓN: En general, se evidenció que la evolución del sistema de gestión se ha dado como resultado de los cambios en la normatividad legal y no hay una tendencia clara frente a la disminución de la severidad y frecuencias de los accidentes.

INTRODUCTION: The adoption of occupational health and safety management systems is a response to the demands and pressures of regulatory agencies, employers and workers to guarantee a safe work environment free that prevents accidents and reduces the number of people injured. Given Colombian companies' tendency to seek certification in those systems, particularly under the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard. OBJECTIVE: Goal was defined of analyzing the impact on workplace accidents of implementing an occupational health and safety management system under the OHSAS 18001 standard. METHOD: all the data on workplace accidents was compiled, with ratios of severity, frequency and disabling injury of petrochemical companies three years before and after their OHSAS standard certification. Overall, we found that the progress of the management system has come about as the result of changes in the country's standards, and not so much as a product of continuous improvement processes according to the system's performance results. RESULTS: In relation to accidents rates of frequency, severity and disability injuries, four companies analyzed do not show a clear downward trend in the three years following certification. However, if the report of observations increased in three of the companies studied. CONCLUSION: we did not find a clear trend toward a decrease in the severity nor the frequency of accidents. However, there has been improvement in terms of observations of unsafe conditions.

Bioavailability of a heme-iron concentrate product added to chocolate biscuit filling in adolescent girls living in a rural area of Mexico.

A heme-iron concentrate product derived from swine hemoglobin was used to enrich the chocolate-flavored filling of biscuits and the bioavailability of this source of heme-iron was assessed in adolescent girls. The placebo control (PC) group consisted of 35 teenagers with the highest baseline hemoglobin concentrations. The supplemented groups were randomized to receive biscuits fortified with iron sulfate (IS, n = 37) or heme-iron concentrate (HIC, n = 40). Both groups were supplemented with 10.3 mg Fe/d for 7 wk. Blood chemistry and hematology analyses were performed at baseline and at the end of the study. The baseline prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin <12 g/dl) in the entire group was 3.9% and by the end of the study it had fallen to 2.3%. The hemoglobin levels in both supplemented groups increased (P < 0.05) during the study period from 13.6 and 13.5 g/dl for HIC and IS, respectively, at baseline to 14 g/dl at the end of the study. Serum ferritin concentrations decreased by the end of the study in both the PC and IS groups (P < 0.05), but not in the heme group. In conclusion, iron bioavailability from HIC-fortified biscuits was calculated to be 23.7% higher than that observed for IS, as shown by the differences observed in serum ferritin levels during the study. The iron contained in the heme-iron concentrate was well absorbed and tolerated by the adolescents included in the study.