Development of microsatellite markers from loquat, Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl.

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a minor fruit which has become an interesting alternative into the European fruit industry. This interest resulted in a loquat germplasm collection established at the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, Valencia, Spain. Currently, it is the main reservoir of this species outside Asia. We developed and characterized the first 21 polymorphic microsatellite loci from a CT/AG-enriched loquat genomic library. The observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.20 and 1.00, expected heterozygosity ranged between 0.17 and 0.81, three markers were multilocus and eight loci departed significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These markers will facilitate diversity and genetic studies into the species.

[Palliative care and intensive medicine in health care at the end of life in the XXI century]. / Cuidados paliativos y medicina intensiva en la atención al final de la vida del siglo XXI.

The basic aim of Intensive Care Medicine is care for the critical patient, that is, persons with a disease or condition that is life-threatening but with possibilities of recovery. In spite of the treatments, even those involving life support, cure is frequently not achieved and this is when the question is raised of withdrawing treatment due to criteria of futility. Once that decision is taken, efforts must be directed towards applying the necessary care to achieve an end to life without pain or suffering, endeavouring to ensure that the patient is accompanied by his loved ones. Studies show the shortcomings in training and health care that exist in caring for patients at the end of their lives within the sphere of the Intensive Care Units. This article reviews the contribution that can be made by Palliative Care in improving care for patients that die in the ICU and for their relatives. The ontology of palliative care aims to achieve an improvement of symptoms, the prevention of possible complications, to determine and respect the welfare of the patient, and to help the family in the final process and in mourning. It therefore involves different disciplines from the health field which must work with common aims. In situations of the end of life the knowledge and sensitivity of the professionals must be at the service of faithful commitment to the patient, making it possible to redirect therapeutic efforts towards the proposed aims.

Cuidados paliativos y medicina intensiva en la atención al final de la vida del siglo XXI / Palliative care and Intensive Medicine in health care at the end of life in the XXI century

El objetivo fundamental de la Medicina Intensiva es la atenciónal paciente crítico, es decir, personas con una enfermedad ocondición amenazante para su vida pero con posibilidades derecuperación; a pesar de los tratamientos, incluidos los de soportevital, con frecuencia no se consigue la curación y es entoncescuando se plantea la retirada de los mismos por criterios de futilidad.Una vez adoptada esa decisión los esfuerzos deben dirigirsea aplicar los cuidados necesarios para conseguir un final de lavida sin dolor ni sufrimiento, procurando que el paciente estéacompañado de sus seres queridos. Estudios realizados muestranlas lagunas formativas y asistenciales que existen en la atención alos pacientes en el final de la vida dentro del ámbito de las Unidadesde Medicina Intensiva. El presente artículo revisa la aportaciónque los Cuidados Paliativos pueden ofrecer para mejorar laasistencia a los enfermos que fallecen en UMI y a sus familiares.La ontología de cuidados paliativos tiene como objetivos la mejoríasintomática, la prevención de las posibles complicaciones,conocer y respetar los criterios de bienestar del paciente y laatención a la familia en el proceso final y en el duelo. Por tanto,implica a diversas disciplinas del campo de la salud y las impelena trabajar con objetivos comunes. En situaciones de final de lavida el conocimiento y la sensibilidad de los profesionales tienenque estar al servicio del compromiso de fidelidad con el pacienteque permita reorientar los esfuerzos terapéuticos hacia los objetivospropuestos

The basic aim of Intensive Care Medicine is care for thecritical patient, that is, persons with a disease or condition thatis life-threatening but with possibilities of recovery. In spite ofthe treatments, even those involving life support, cure isfrequently not achieved and this is when the question is raisedof withdrawing treatment due to criteria of futility. Once thatdecision is taken, efforts must be directed towards applying thenecessary care to achieve an end to life without pain orsuffering, endeavouring to ensure that the patient isaccompanied by his loved ones. Studies show the shortcomingsin training and health care that exist in caring for patients at theend of their lives within the sphere of the Intensive Care Units.This article reviews the contribution that can be made byPalliative Care in improving care for patients that die in the ICUand for their relatives. The ontology of palliative care aims toachieve an improvement of symptoms, the prevention ofpossible complications, to determine and respect the welfare ofthe patient, and to help the family in the final process and inmourning. It therefore involves different disciplines from thehealth field which must work with common aims. In situations ofthe end of life the knowledge and sensitivity of the professionalsmust be at the service of faithful commitment to the patient,making it possible to redirect therapeutic efforts towards theproposed aims

Tratamiento domiciliario de la obstrucción intestinal alta: a propósito de un caso clínico / No disponible

La obstrucción intestinal maligna alta presenta síntomas intensos como dolor y vómitos que requieren intervenciones complejas y frecuentes ingresos hospitalarios. Presentamos un caso clínico con el objetivo de señalar la posibilidad de tratamiento domiciliario de esta patología cuando el paciente lo desea. La utilización de fármacos de reconocida eficacia en el tratamiento sintomático de la obstrucción intestinal como morfina, corticoides, butilbromurode hioscina, haloperidol y octeotrido y la hipodermoclisis, fueron las herramientas farmacológicas utilizadas. La administración combinada de fármacos en infusión continua nos permitió conseguir un adecuado alivio de los síntomas. Su administración fue bien tolerada y aceptada por el paciente y familia

Malignant upper bowel obstruction causes severe symptoms such as pain and vomiting, which require complex treatment and frequent hospital admissions. We report a case of malignant upper bowel obstruction to show that it can be satisfactorily treated in the patient’s home if the patient so wishes. The use of drugs with established efficacy in the sympthomatic treatment of obstruction, including morphine, dexamethasone, hioscynebutylbromide, haloperidol, and octreotide, together with hypodermoclysis, was our pharmacological tool. A continous subcutaneous infusion of combined drugs allowed us to obtain acceptable symptom relief. Home hypodermoclysis was well accepted, and managed by the patient and his or her family

Development of a citrus genome-wide EST collection and cDNA microarray as resources for genomic studies.

A functional genomics project has been initiated to approach the molecular characterization of the main biological and agronomical traits of citrus. As a key part of this project, a citrus EST collection has been generated from 25 cDNA libraries covering different tissues, developmental stages and stress conditions. The collection includes a total of 22,635 high-quality ESTs, grouped in 11,836 putative unigenes, which represent at least one third of the estimated number of genes in the citrus genome. Functional annotation of unigenes which have Arabidopsis orthologues (68% of all unigenes) revealed gene representation in every major functional category, suggesting that a genome-wide EST collection was obtained. A Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan. cv. Clemenules genomic library, that will contribute to further characterization of relevant genes, has also been constructed. To initiate the analysis of citrus transcriptome, we have developed a cDNA microarray containing 12,672 probes corresponding to 6875 putative unigenes of the collection. Technical characterization of the microarray showed high intra- and inter-array reproducibility, as well as a good range of sensitivity. We have also validated gene expression data achieved with this microarray through an independent technique such as RNA gel blot analysis.

Adsorption of mercury by carbonaceous adsorbents prepared from rubber of tyre wastes.

Rubber from tyre wastes has been used to prepare carbonaceous adsorbents and the products obtained have been tested as adsorbents for mercury in aqueous solution. The adsorbents have been prepared by applying thermal, chemical and combined (thermal and chemical or vice versa) treatments. Tyre rubber has been: heated at 400 or 900 degrees C for 2 h in N2, chemically-treated with H2SO4, HNO3 or H2SO4/HNO3 solution for 24 h, and in two successive steps first heated at 400 degrees C for 2h in N2 and then treated with a H2SO4/HNO3 solution for 24 h, or vice versa. Resultant products have been characterised in terms of elementary composition and textural properties. The adsorption of mercury has been studied from kinetic and equilibrium standpoints. The treatments effected to tyre rubber decrease the carbon content and the hydrogen content. The oxygen content and the nitrogen content increase for the chemically-treated products. The heat treatment of tyre rubber results in a larger development of surface area, microporosity, and mesoporosity than the chemical treatments. These treatments, however, produce a great creation of macropores. In comparison to the starting rubber, the adsorption process of mercury is faster when the material is heated or treated with the H2SO4, HNO3 or 1:3 H2SO4/HNO3 solution. These adsorbents are either a non-porous solid or possess a high mesopore volume or a wide pore size distribution in the macropore range. The adsorption capacity is larger for products prepared by heat, chemical and combined treatments of the rubber. A common textural characteristic of these adsorbents is their better developed microporosity. The ability to adsorb mercury is higher for the heated products than for the chemically-treated ones. The maximum adsorption of mercury is 211 mg g(-1). The constant Kf of the Freundlich equation is as high as 108.9 mg g(-1).

Analysis of cytokine and specific antibody profiles in hydatid patients with primary infection and relapse of disease.

We studied in vitro cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with primary and recurrent hydatid disease when cells were incubated with mitogen (PHA) and antigen from hydatid cyst fluid (HCFAg); levels of specific IgE, IgG4 and eosinophil counts were also measured in sera. When specifically stimulated, PBMC from patients produced higher levels of IL-2 (P < 0.02), IFN-gamma (P < 0.0028) and IL-5 (P < 0.01) than those from uninfected donors, whereas IL-10 levels were comparable. Notably, IL-5 was also produced in higher levels (P < 0.01) by PBMC from patients when incubated with PHA. The IL-5:IFN-gamma ratio was significantly greater (P < 0.02) when measured in response to specific stimulation than it was for PHA-stimulated cultures. These cytokine data suggest a bias towards a Th2-response which is in agreement with the high levels of IgG4 and IgE observed. The polarized response appears to be related to clinical status, as differences between patients with primary infection and those with relapse of disease were demonstrated, with significantly higher levels of IgE (P < 0.003), IgG4 (P < 0.04) titres and eosinophil counts (P < 0.04) in the latter; in addition a tendency to an increased production of IL-5 buy lower IFN-gamma was also observed in this group. These results merit further study as they are suggestive of a putative role of Th2-like responses in susceptibility to reinfection by E. granulosus.