Exploring adolescents' experiences of continuing to wear face masks during COVID-19: A qualitative descriptive study in Barcelona (Spain).

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the use of face masks as a social distancing measure. Although evidence supports their effectiveness in preventing infection, it remains unclear why some adolescents choose to continue wearing them postpandemic, even when it is no longer mandatory. This study aims to explore adolescents' experiences of wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic when their use was no longer mandatory. METHOD: In this exploratory qualitative study, data were collected from 16 adolescents through face-to-face semistructured interviews. The participants were asked about the reasons and feelings associated with continuing to wear masks, as well as the contexts in which they felt safe without a mask. The collected data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified: (1) Navigating complex decision-making: balancing safety and self-image, (2) peer influence dynamics and (3) managing the future: weather dynamics and pandemic evolution. DISCUSSION: The potential implications of withdrawing COVID-19 preventive measures, such as mask-wearing, beyond the pandemic remain understudied. It is crucial to further investigate the perceptions related to wearing masks and its cessation, especially amongst vulnerable individuals. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Due to methodological constraints associated with participants' age, they were not engaged in the design, data analysis, data interpretation or manuscript preparation phases of the study.

Podophyllotoxin: Recent Advances in the Development of Hybridization Strategies to Enhance Its Antitumoral Profile.

Podophyllotoxin is a naturally occurring cyclolignan isolated from rhizomes of Podophyllum sp. In the clinic, it is used mainly as an antiviral; however, its antitumor activity is even more interesting. While podophyllotoxin possesses severe side effects that limit its development as an anticancer agent, nevertheless, it has become a good lead compound for the synthesis of derivatives with fewer side effects and better selectivity. Several examples, such as etoposide, highlight the potential of this natural product for chemomodulation in the search for new antitumor agents. This review focuses on the recent chemical modifications (2017-mid-2023) of the podophyllotoxin skeleton performed mainly at the C-ring (but also at the lactone D-ring and at the trimethoxyphenyl E-ring) together with their biological properties. Special emphasis is placed on hybrids or conjugates with other natural products (either primary or secondary metabolites) and other molecules (heterocycles, benzoheterocycles, synthetic drugs, and other moieties) that contribute to improved podophyllotoxin bioactivity. In fact, hybridization has been a good strategy to design podophyllotoxin derivatives with enhanced bioactivity. The way in which the two components are joined (directly or through spacers) was also considered for the organization of this review. This comprehensive perspective is presented with the aim of guiding the medicinal chemistry community in the design of new podophyllotoxin-based drugs with improved anticancer properties.

Halimanes and cancer: ent-halimic acid as a starting material for the synthesis of antitumor drugs.

The development of new anti-cancer agents is an urgent necessity nowadays, as it is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Many drugs currently used are derived from natural products. Halimanes are a class of bicyclic diterpenoids present in various plants and microorganisms. Many of them exhibit biological activities such as antitumor, antimicrobial, or anti-inflammatory. Among them, ent-halimic acid is an easily accessible compound, in large quantities, from the ethyl acetate extract of the plant Halimium viscosum, and it has been used as a starting material in a number of bioactive molecules. In this work, we review all the natural halimanes with antitumor and related activities until date as well as the synthesis of antitumor compounds using ent-halimic acid as a starting material.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescents' Mental Health in Catalonia (Spain): A Qualitative Study.

This study aimed to understand the experiences of adolescents regarding the perceived impact of COVID-19 on their mental health in Catalonia (Spain). A qualitative exploratory methodology was used with a purposive sample of 30 high-school students regarding their experiences of the self-perceived impact of COVID-19 on their mental health. Data were thematically analyzed using Braun and Clarke method. Three main themes emerged from the data: (a) the challenge of living confined, (b) the footprint of COVID-19 on adolescents' mental health, and (c) school dynamics during the lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted adolescents' mental health, and adolescents perceived a lack of emotional support from educational centers. Therefore, incorporating emotional support in educational centers and offering emotional self-management tools to young students should be a priority. School nurses can play an essential role in recognizing and managing emotional needs and being the natural link between educational and primary care centers.

Mesotherapy with Bicalutamide: A New Treatment for Androgenetic Alopecia.

Bicalutamide is a selective androgen receptor antagonist. To date, it has been used orally with good efficacy results, but not in mesotherapy. In our center, we assessed whether patients undergoing bicalutamide mesotherapy showed positive responses and tolerated the local administration of bicalutamide. Six premenopausal women, with a mean age of 35.7 years and clinical diagnosis of Olsen Grade II or III female androgenetic alopecia accompanied by significant seborrhea were treated with 1 ml bicalutamide 0.5% mesotherapy. Three monthly sessions were performed. A subtle improvement in hair density was described after the third session. The overall satisfaction of the patients with the treatment was 6.3, on a scale of 1-10. Premenopausal women require several therapeutic approaches to combat severe androgenetic alopecia. Our data showed that bicalutamide mesotherapy was well tolerated and welcomed by the patients; we, therefore, provide a new tool for the management of this pathology.

Improving Properties of Podophyllic Aldehyde-Derived Cyclolignans: Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Lignohydroquinones, Dual-Selective Hybrids against Colorectal Cancer Cells.

New lignohydroquinone conjugates (L-HQs) were designed and synthesized using the hybridization strategy, and evaluated as cytotoxics against several cancer cell lines. The L-HQs were obtained from the natural product podophyllotoxin and some semisynthetic terpenylnaphthohydroquinones, prepared from natural terpenoids. Both entities of the conjugates were connected through different aliphatic or aromatic linkers. Among the evaluated hybrids, the L-HQ with the aromatic spacer clearly displayed the in vitro dual cytotoxic effect derived from each starting component, retaining the selectivity and showing a high cytotoxicity at short (24 h) and long (72 h) incubation times (4.12 and 0.0450 µM, respectively) against colorectal cancer cells. In addition, the cell cycle blockade observed by flow cytometry studies, molecular dynamics, and tubulin interaction studies demonstrated the interest of this kind of hybrids, which docked adequately into the colchicine binding site of tubulin despite their large size. These results prove the validity of the hybridization strategy and encourage further research on non-lactonic cyclolignans.

Technical and economic design of a novel hybrid system photovoltaic/wind/hydrokinetic to supply a group of sustainable buildings in the shape of airplanes.

This research analyzes the impact of a hybrid off-grid renewable energy system consisting of wind turbines, solar photovoltaic, hydrokinetic turbines and battery-backed to provide a group of novel airplane-shaped buildings, generates development in nearby towns that sit on a city vantage point from Cuenca in Ecuador. This is an innovative proposal that, in addition to using renewable energy in the complex of buildings, generates development in nearby towns. Three sources of renewable energy under energy control, load cycle and load monitoring are used to determine new patterns in the behavior of the sources with respect to the demand for electricity. Above all, it reduces carbon. With the support of HOMER Pro, the generation sources are optimized to cover the electrical demand patterns of the group of buildings in the form of airplanes. The results show that the systems that include solar panels, wind and hydrokinetic generators have a higher cost but there is more guarantee by maintaining their charge levels in the batteries above 40%. The proposed methodology and design can be widely adapted to places with similar characteristics worldwide, creating a novel solution for this type of buildings powered by renewable energy. The annual energy required by the set of buildings is 234.86 MW h/year. When projecting the renewable energy system for 25 years, an NPC of $37,600 and a COE of $0.386/kWh are achieved.

2-Phenethylamines in Medicinal Chemistry: A Review.

A concise review covering updated presence and role of 2-phenethylamines in medicinal chemistry is presented. Open-chain, flexible alicyclic amine derivatives of this motif are enumerated in key therapeutic targets, listing medicinal chemistry hits and appealing screening compounds. Latest reports in discovering new bioactive 2-phenethylamines by research groups are covered too.

Erythema nodosum after COVID-19 vaccine: Report of two pediatric cases.

With the introduction of large-scale COVID-19 vaccination programs, a variety of cutaneous manifestations have been described. We present two girls (ages 12 and 5 years) who developed erythema nodosum (EN) 3 and 14 days after Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination, respectively. While EN after COVID-19 vaccination has been reported in adults, it is can also occur in children.

Apremilast and biologics: Characteristics of patients treated with apremilast before, during, or after a biological treatment.

Apremilast is an oral small molecule approved for the treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease. This research was conducted to describe the characteristics of patients who received treatment with apremilast for a skin disorder, either before, during, or after a biological treatment, with the aim of analyze the reasons that lead to start this drug in real clinical practice or suspend it for another. A total of 41 patients were enrolled: nine (22.0%) had received biological treatment prior to apremilast, seven (17.0%) both before and after apremilast and 25 (61.0%) after apremilast. One patient received concomitant treatment with adalimumab and apremilast. Most patients (85.4%) received apremilast as treatment for psoriasis. Reasons for starting apremilast were lack of efficacy with previous treatments (85.4%) and adverse effects or contraindication to previous treatments (14.6%), without statistically significant differences between patients who had received a previous biologic and those who had not. Drug survival was not influenced by previous biological treatment, but we found an increased risk of drug discontinuation in patients with chronic kidney disease (log-rank p = 0.028). The main reason of apremilast withdrawal was lack of adequate disease control (60.0%), most of whom required treatment with biologics. Therefore, despite the extensive development of new therapies for psoriasis and other dermatological conditions, apremilast is a widely used drug even in patients who are candidates for biologic treatment. Its initiation is more frequent due to poor disease control than because of other therapies contraindications.

Phytochemical Composition of Lichen Parmotrema hypoleucinum (J. Steiner) Hale from Algeria.

In this work, we carried out studies of the chemical composition of hexane, chloroform and ethanol extracts from two samples of the lichen Parmotrema hypoleucinum collected in Algeria. Each sample of the lichen P. hypoleucinum was collected on two different supports: Olea europaea and Quercus coccifera. Hexane extracts were prepared, in Soxhlet; each hexane extract was fractionated by its solubility in methanol; the products soluble in methanol were separated (cold): 1-Hexane, 2-Hexane; and the products insoluble in methanol (cold): 1-Cires, 2-Cires. A diazomethane esterified sample of 1-Hexane, 2-Hexane, 1-Cires and 2-Cires was analyzed by GC-MS, and the components were identified as methyl esters. In the 1-Hexane and 2-Hexane fractions, the methyl esters of the predominant fatty acids in the lichen were identified: palmitic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid and stearic acid; a hydrocarbon was also identified: 13-methyl-17-norkaur-15-ene and several derivatives of orsellinic acid. In the 1-Cires and 2-Cires fractions, the previous fatty acids were no longer observed, and only the derivatives of orsellinic acid were found. The analysis of the 1-Hexane, 2-Hexane fractions by HPLC-MS/MS allows us to identify different chemical components, and the most characteristic products of the lichen were identified, such as Atranol, Chloroatranol, Atranorin and Chloroatranorin. In the fractions of 1-Cires and 2-Cires, the HPLC-MS/MS analysis reveals that they are very similar in their chemical components; the characteristic products of this lichen in this fraction are Atranorin and Chloroatranorin. In the extracts of chloroform, 1-Chloroform and 2-Chloroform, the analysis carried out by HPLC-MS/MS shows small differences in their chemical composition at the level of secondary products; among the products to be highlighted for this work, we have chloroatranorin, the stictic acid, norstictic acid and other derivatives. In the analysis of the most polar extracts carried out in ethanol: 1-Ethanol and 2-Ethanol, HPLC-MS/MS analysis shows very similar chemical compositions in these two extracts with small differences. In these extracts, the following acids were identified as characteristic compounds of this lichen: constictic acid, stictic acid, substictic acid and methylstictic acid. In the HPLC-MS/MS analysis of all these extracts, alectoronic acid was not found.

COCREA SASI. Cocreación para la promoción de la salud afectiva sexual desde una mirada intercultural / COCREA SASI. Co-creation for the promotion of Sexual and Emotional Health from an intercultural perspective

Objetivo: identificar realidades sobre la salud afectiva sexual y reproductiva (SASR) de mujeres inmigrantes en Barcelona, y sus propuestas de herramientas para promoverla a través de un proceso Investigación-Acción-Participativa (IAP). Método: estudio cualitativo, descriptivo-interpretativo. Basado en la IAP, según el modelo de Kemmis y McTaggart, y coordinado por un grupo motor (GIAP). Se realizaron grupos de discusión y entrevistas a inmigrantes y profesionales siguiendo un guion (conceptos sobre SASR, conocimientos y experiencias sobre métodos de anticoncepción y de prevención, acceso a recursos, y propuestas de herramientas). El análisis narrativo de contenido se realizó con ATLAS-Ti. Resultados: se constituyó un Grupo Motor (GIAP) con 13 miembros. Se realizaron 10 grupos de discusión y tres entrevistas, con 51 inmigrantes de múltiples orígenes y 10 profesionales. La SASR se relaciona con la cultura de origen según la edad, el género, el estado civil, la familia, la religión y la educación recibida. Faltan conocimientos respecto a la anticoncepción y la prevención de infecciones de transmisión sexual y los servicios de atención a la SASR. Se proponen herramientas interactivas que incluyen juegos, dinamizadas por profesionales con competencias culturales. La escuela emergió como un espacio importante para trabajar con esta herramienta. Conclusión: el proceso IAP ha permitido identificar realidades de las mujeres inmigrantes y propuestas concretas para promover la equidad en SASR.(AU)

Objective: to identify real facts about the sexual and reproductive emotional health (SRH) in immigrant women in Barcelona, and their proposals for tools of promotion through a Participatory Action-Research (PAR) process. Method: a qualitative, descriptive-interpretative study, based on PAR, according to the model by Kemmis and McTaggart, and coordinated by a motor group (PARG). The study involved discussion groups and interviews with immigrants and professionals, following a script (SRH concepts, knowledge and experience about contraception and prevention methods, access to resources, and proposals for tools). The narrative content analysis was conducted through ATLAS-Ti. Results: a Motor Group (PARG) was formed with 13 members; 10 discussion groups and three interviews were conducted, with 51 immigrants from multiple origins and 10 professionals. SRH was associated with their culture of origin according to age, gender, marital status, family, religion, and education received. There was lack of knowledge regarding contraception and prevention of sexually-transmitted infections, and about support services for SRH. Interactive tools were suggested, including games, activated by professionals with cultural skills. The school appeared as an important space to work with this tool. Conclusion: the PAR process allowed to identify the realities of immigrant women, as well as specific proposals to promote equity in SRH.(AU)

Sexuality in people living with a serious mental illness: A meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT: A serious mental illness influences sexual life and people affected have worries about their sexual health. People living with a serious mental illness can and want to participate in interventions related to sexual health. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE: People who suffer a serious mental illness are interested in maintaining an active sex life. People who suffer a serious mental illness experience rejection when they open up and they lose intimate relationships or possibilities of meeting other people because of ignorance and prejudices surrounding mental health. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Mental health services must respond to this need, that is including sexual needs assessment among routine standard practices or training nurses on sexual education to allow them to advise patients and their families and friends. Health systems should promote awareness programmes and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and sexuality. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Sexuality-related nursing care is scarce and mainly focuses on biological issues. There is also a lack of knowledge about how serious mental illnesses affect sexuality. AIM: To explain how people with a serious mental illness perceive and experience their sexuality. METHOD: A meta-synthesis was conducted to integrate qualitative studies. Four databases were used to perform the search, focused in the last ten years. Nine articles were included, and their results analysed thematically. RESULTS: Four categories were identified: "Pathologized sexuality," which explains how the disorder and treatment affect sexuality; "Not my sexuality anymore," which describes feelings emerging from the perceived limitations and the role of self-acceptance; "Learning to manage intimate relationships," which explains the desire to establish intimate personal relationships and define their meaning; and "Reconstructing my sexuality," which elucidates the influence of the environment on sexuality. DISCUSSION: Sexuality is influenced by several factors, the main ones being: the clinical complications, the side effects of drug treatment, the social support, the relationship with the health sector and stigma. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Having a serious mental illness affects sexuality and can provoke suffering and social isolation. Mental health services should address this issue and carry out community interventions to reduce stigma.

Nurses' Experiences of Care at Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Teams: A case study research.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: There are many international studies on CRHTTs; however, there has been little research on nurses' experiences of working with CRHTTs. Earlier studies focused on the nurses' gatekeeping role but did not explore nurses' perception of care as a construct. WHAT DOES THE PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This study provides information based on mental health nurses' experiences. It explains the home environment, the therapeutic relationship and the process of mental health nursing care during a crisis. Also, the study explains nurses' satisfaction with care provided at patients' home. Unlike other studies, this study focused on nurses' experiences while providing care, rather than on nurses' general responsibilities and the services they provide. This study is the first of its kind in Spain with such a focus. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Acknowledging nurses' experiences and their perspectives about the care they provide could help shift mental health nursing paradigms from those based on biomedical models to newer perspectives found in recovery models. Furthermore, this knowledge could improve the quality of care in mental health settings due to its potential to guide nursing practices. Raising mental health care providers' awareness of mental health nurses' personal and professional care constructs would help implement support systems to meet the professional's needs. Meeting the needs of nurses related to the care they provide is likely to impact patient care positively. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Crisis resolution home treatment teams (CRHTTs) provide short-term, intensive home treatment to people experiencing mental health crises. There is limited research on nurses' experiences with CRHTTs. While earlier studies mainly focussed on mental health nurses' gatekeeping responsibilities, more investigation is needed in this field. AIM: To explore nurses' perceptions and constructions about care in CRHTT services. METHOD: A qualitative case study was employed. Ten semi-structured interviews were performed to nursing staff working in CRHTT services. RESULTS: Three main categories emerged from the data analysis: nurses' perspectives of the care provided, nursing setting of care at home and nursing care plan at home. DISCUSSIONS: Findings revealed that nurses experienced greater satisfaction providing care in the home settings, and therefore, it positively impacted the quality of care and reduced patient's stigma. This study also relates the value of developing care plans centred on patients' environments increasing Mental Health Nursing (MHN) work satisfaction. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Knowledge of the intrinsic experiences of care provided by nurses in CRHTTs may help facilitate the development of the nursing role in CRHTT by improving understanding of care in mental health settings.

Salut als Barris en Barcelona, una intervención comunitaria para reducir las desigualdades sociales en salud / Salut als Barris in Barcelona, a community intervention to reduce social inequalities in health

Introducción: La Ley de Barrios (LdB) de Cataluña (2004) financia planes de rehabilitación urbana en barrios frágiles. El programa Salut als Barris (SaB) (2005) pretende reducir en ellos las desigualdades sociales en salud mediante acción comunitaria.Objetivos. Se describe la experiencia, logros, aprendizajes y retos de SaB en Barcelona.Métodos. En Barcelona se desarrollan 12 proyectos LdB. En siete de ellos, la Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona (ASPB), los Distritos Municipales y el Consorcio Sanitario implementan SaB. Se contemplan procesos de intersectorialidad, participación, sostenibilidad, evidencia y evaluación en fases: a) establecimiento de alianzas políticas y grupo motor; b) conocimiento comunitario; c) priorización; d) plan de intervención basado en la evidencia y sostenibilidad; e) evaluación de procesos, satisfacción y percepción de salud, y f) mantenimiento.Resultados. En estos barrios se han establecido acuerdos políticos y grupos motores, y priorizado necesidades y activos. Se han desarrollado intervenciones que facilitan la actividad física, las relaciones sociales, el ocio saludable, la alfabetización en salud y la salud sexual. Se alcanza al 5-25% de las poblaciones diana. Los resultados en salud autopercibida y satisfacción de usuarios y agentes son favorables.Discusión. SaB promueve el intercambio de conocimientos, confianza, metodología y objetivos entre sectores y territorios municipales, y avanza la salud en todas las políticas y la equidad en el ayuntamiento. Aunque el impacto poblacional es bajo, ya que actúa sobre determinantes intermedios, es probable que se hayan conseguido resultados en salud que se deberán estudiar a largo plazo. (AU)

Pemphigus Vulgaris Localized to the Scalp with Complete Response to Topical Steroids.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an anti-cadherin autoimmune disease, characterized by the production of anti-desmoglein 3 (and to a lesser extent anti-desmoglein 1) antibodies, producing acanthosis, typically suprabasal, which clinically translates into flaccid blisters and erosions, generally starting on mucous membranes, with subsequent appearance of skin lesions. Only about 25 cases of PV of exclusively cutaneous location have been described in the literature. Treatment with potent topical steroids is usually sufficient to control the symptoms. We present the case of a 68-year-old female patient with localized PV in the scalp, presenting as alopecic and scabby plaque, with excellent response and hair regrowth with topical corticotherapy.