Retinal vein occlusion. Audit of a specialized care program.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is the second most frequent cause of retinal vascular disease and is related to classic cardiovascular risk factors. A specific program was designed to detect and treat risk factors in patients with RVO. The aim of this study is to audit the results of this program. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The program consisted of a multidisciplinary clinical evaluation by the Ophthalmology and Internal Medicine Departments. All patients with RVO were screened, at minimum, for hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, overweight, and antiphospholipid syndrome. New risk factors or poor control of known risk factors were expected to be found in at least one-third of the patients. Among them, therapeutic measures were expected to be taken in at least two-thirds. A dissociated automated search of the data of all patients who entered the program between April 2021 and April 2022 was performed. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were included for analysis. Of these, 39 (69.6%) had at least one new or poorly controlled risk factor and 43 (76.8%) had their treatment modified in some way. Antiphospholipid syndrome was detected in five (8.9%). Only one patient had low-risk hereditary thrombophilia. After an exhaustive examination, no risk factors were found in 11 patients. CONCLUSION: This specific program has been effective in detecting new or poorly controlled risk factors and improving their treatment.

Sharpening high resolution information in single particle electron cryomicroscopy.

Advances in single particle electron cryomicroscopy have made possible to elucidate routinely the structure of biological specimens at subnanometer resolution. At this resolution, secondary structure elements are discernable by their signature. However, identification and interpretation of high resolution structural features are hindered by the contrast loss caused by experimental and computational factors. This contrast loss is traditionally modeled by a Gaussian decay of structure factors with a temperature factor, or B-factor. Standard restoration procedures usually sharpen the experimental maps either by applying a Gaussian function with an inverse ad hoc B-factor, or according to the amplitude decay of a reference structure. EM-BFACTOR is a program that has been designed to widely facilitate the use of the novel method for objective B-factor determination and contrast restoration introduced by Rosenthal and Henderson [Rosenthal, P.B., Henderson, R., 2003. Optimal determination of particle orientation, absolute hand, and contrast loss in single-particle electron cryomicroscopy. J. Mol. Biol. 333, 721-745]. The program has been developed to interact with the most common packages for single particle electron cryomicroscopy. This sharpening method has been further investigated via EM-BFACTOR, concluding that it helps to unravel the high resolution molecular features concealed in experimental density maps, thereby making them better suited for interpretation. Therefore, the method may facilitate the analysis of experimental data in high resolution single particle electron cryomicroscopy.

Supervivencia del paciente trasplantado de hígado por hepatocarcinoma y riesgo de recurrencia tumoral / Survival of patients receiving a liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma, and risk of tumor recurrence

Objetivo: el objetivo de este estudio ha sido evaluar la supervivencia a corto y largo plazo del paciente trasplantado de hígado por hepatocarcinoma (CHC), el riesgo de recidiva tumoral postrasplante y los factores asociados a esta complicación. Diseño: estudio restrospectivo de una serie consecutiva de pacientes trasplantados de hígado por hepatocarcinoma. Pacientes y métodos: enfermos trasplantados por hepatocarcinoma desde el año 1989 hasta noviembre de 2003. Los pacientes fueron seleccionados con unos límites generales de tamaño y número de nódulos que fueron posteriormente publicados como criterios de Milán. En su diagnóstico pretrasplante se siguieron asimismo criterios consensuados en la Conferencia de Barcelona. Resultados: la supervivencia de este grupo de 81 pacientes trasplantados por hepatocarcinoma fue del 80, 61 y 52%, a los 1, 5 y 10 años respectivamente. En el 32% de los casos el CHC fue un hallazgo incidental en el explante. En el 12,3% se constató recidiva tumoral. El estudio multivariante identificó como factores de riesgo de recidiva el tamaño del nódulo (OR = 1,7944) (IC 95% = 1,1332-2,8413) y la invasión vascular (OR = 6,6346) (IC 95% = 1,4624-30,1003). Conclusiones: el trasplante de hígado en pacientes seleccionados con CHC obtiene buenos resultados a medio y largo plazo. El riesgo de recidiva tumoral postrasplante se ha reducido notablemente y está asociado con el tamaño del nódulo y con la invasión vascular microscópica

Objective: the goal of this research has been to evaluate the survival, in long and short term, of the patient receiving liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the risk of posttransplant tumor relapse and factors related to this complication. Design: retrospective study of a consecutive series of patients having had liver transplant for HCC. Patients and methodology: transplant patients for HCC from 1989 to November 2003. Patients were selected due to general limitations of nodule size and quantity, which were subsequently published as Milan criteria. Also, criteria agreed in the Conference of Barcelona were followed in the pre-transplant diagnosis. Results: the survival of this 81 patients group was of the 80, 61 and 52% for 1, 5 and 10 years respectively. In the 32% of the cases the HCC was an incidental finding in the explant. In the 12.3%, the tumor relapse was verified. The multivariate research identified the size of the nodule (OR = 1,7944) (IC 95% = 1,1332-2,8413) and the vascular invasion (OR = 6,6346) (IC 95% = 1,4624-30,1003) as risk factors of relapse. Conclusions: the liver transplant in selected patients with HCC has good results in medium and long term. The risk of post-transplant tumor relapse becomes notably reduced and is associated with the size of the nodule and the microscopic vascular invasion

Survival of patients receiving a liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma, and risk of tumor recurrence.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this research has been to evaluate the survival, in long and short term, of the patient receiving liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the risk of post-transplant tumor relapse and factors related to this complication. DESIGN: Retrospective study of a consecutive series of patients having had liver transplant for HCC. PATIENTS AND METHODOLOGY: Transplant patients for HCC from 1989 to November 2003. Patients were selected due to general limitations of nodule size and quantity, which were subsequently published as Milan criteria. Also, criteria agreed in the Conference of Barcelona were followed in the pre-transplant diagnosis. RESULTS: The survival of this 81 patients group was of the 80, 61 and 52% for 1, 5 and 10 years respectively. In the 32% of the cases the HCC was an incidental finding in the explant. In the 12.3%, the tumor relapse was verified. The multivariate research identified the size of the nodule (OR=1,7944) (IC 95%=1,1332-2,8413) and the vascular invasion (OR=6,6346) (IC 95%=1,4624-30,1003) as risk factors of relapse. CONCLUSIONS: The liver transplant in selected patients with HCC has good results in medium and long term. The risk of post-transplant tumor relapse becomes notably reduced and is associated with the size of the nodule and the microscopic vascular invasion.

Biliopancreatic tumors: patient survival and quality of life after palliative treatment.

OBJECTIVES: to analyse survival and quality of life of patients with malignant obstructive jaundice after palliative treatment, comparing endoscopic stent insertion and palliative surgical (palliative resection and bypass surgical). PATIENTS AND METHOD: eighty and seven patients were included in a trial. They were distributed to endoscopic stent (50) and palliative surgical (37). It analysed survival, quality of life and comfort index of jaundiced patients. The good quality of life was defined by absence of jaundice, pruritus and cholangitis after the initial treatment. RESULTS: the median survival of the patients treated to endoscopic stent was 9,6 months whereas the patients to surgical treatment survived a median of 17 months. The time free of disease was 4 months in stented patients and 10,5 months in surgical patients. There was no significant difference in comfort index between the two groups (stented 34%, surgical 42,5%) Neither was there significant difference in survival and quality of life between palliative resection and bypass surgery. CONCLUSIONS: despite the survival and time free of disease being better in surgical patients, there was no significant difference in overall quality of life between the two groups. The survival and quality of life are the same after palliative resection as after bypass surgery, for this should not be performed routinely or to justify resection as a debulking procedure.

Integración escolar y rendimiento académico de una muestra de alumnos inmigrantes de Algeciras / School integration and performance in a sample of inmigrants in algeciras

Se presenta un estudio descriptivo realizado sobre una muestra de alumnos inmigrantes, en su mayoría de origen magrebí, de segundo u tercer ciclo de Educación Primaria de colegios públicos de Algeciras, comparándolos con un grupo de alumnos no inmigrantes de edades similares y escolarizados en esos mismos centros. Se partió de la idea de que aspectos sociales y académicos del grupo de alumnos inmigrantes pueden verse seriamente afectados debido a todo lo que conlleva la inmigración (cambio cultural, social, lingüístico...), y que pueden encontrarse en la base de los problemas de aprendizaje y el fracaso escolar que presentan los alumnos. Para comprobarlo se evaluaron variables tanto del rendimiento académico como de la adaptación escolar y se analizaron las diferencias entre ambos grupos. Los resultados mostraron que los alumnos inmigrantes presentan niveles más bajos de inadaptación escolar y de rendimiento académico que sus compañeros no inmigrantes (AU)

Efficacy of different administration routes for vaccination against Vibrio anguillarum in Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.).

Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.) is a potentially important new species to cold-water aquaculture. Development of a viable industrial farming technique has been hampered by continued pathogen problems within the rearing cycle and there are several reports that indicated how susceptible juvenile halibut are to bacterial and viral diseases. Interest has been expressed, within the industry, over the possibility of vaccinating suitably sized animals to protect against the more common aquaculture pathogens. Vibrio spp. are of particular concern due to their ubiquitous nature and the relatively frequent occurrence of these pathogens within marine aquaculture. We have previously investigated the susceptibility of Atlantic halibut to infection by Vibrio anguillarum and the efficacy of intraperitoneal injected delivery of a commercial vaccine in protecting against the disease. Given the very high rate of protection offered by immunisation we wanted to investigate the effect of alternate routes of administration on the efficacy of the vaccine.

Estrogenic effects of p-hydroxybenzoic acid in CD1 mice.

Xenobiotic estrogens in the environment or diet have received much attention as a possible source of certain hormonal disease states in human and wildlife. Therefore, the detection of estrogenic activity of any substance, especially those related to the food industry, is important. The estrogenic activity of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), a compound related to a commonly used group of preservatives in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical preparations, was evaluated with immature and adult ovariectomized female mice (CD1) using two well-known bioassays. Subcutaneous administrations (s.c.) of different doses of PHBA were compared with estradiol (E2), and their effects on vaginal cornification and uterotrophic activities were evaluated. Different groups of animals were treated s.c. daily for 3 days with vehicle (corn oil, 0.3 ml/100 g), E2 (1 microgram/100 g), and PHBA (0.5, 5, 50, and 500 micrograms/100 g). Four days after treatment, PHBA produced a dose-dependent response on vaginal cornification and uterotrophic activity in both immature and adult ovariectomized mice. The relative uterotrophic potency of PHBA (500 micrograms/100 g) to E2 (1 microgram/100 g) was 0.0011 in immature mice and 0.0018 in ovariectomized animals.