Comparative outcomes of direct-acting antiviral treatment in patients with HIV-Hepatitis C co-infection: insights from a single center experience in Colombia.

Background: Direct-acting antivirals (DAA) were introduced to Latin America with the aim of eliminating hepatitis C (HCV) in the region. There are scarce data on the outcomes of people living with HIV and HCV treated with these medications in Colombia. This study compares the outcomes of patients with HIV-HCV co-infection and HCV mono-infection treated with DAAs. Methods: Retrospective observational study including patients ≥18 years old with HCV infection treated with DAAs from August 2017 to December 2019 in a comprehensive center in Colombia. The main outcome was sustained virologic response (SVR). Secondary outcomes included reinfection, relapse and adverse events. Results: We included 223 individuals with HCV treated with DAAs; 142 (63.6%) individuals were mono-infected and 81 (36.3%) co-infected. Genotypes 1b (49.7%) and 4 (33.9%) were the most common. Overall SVR after DAA treatment was 96.8%. Relapse rate was 2.24%, reinfection rate was 6.28% and adverse events occurred in 27.8% of cases. SVR was comparable in patients with co- and mono-infection (95% vs 97.8%, p=0.245). Conclusion: DAA were effective in mono-infected (HCV) and co-infected (HCV/HIV) patients and reinfection was high in this last group.

Treatment of synthetic dye baths by Fenton processes: evaluation of their environmental footprint through life cycle assessment.

Inorganic and organic constituents present in textile effluents have a noticeable effect on the performance of Fenton processes. However, studies have been focused on simple wastewater matrices that do not offer enough information to stakeholders to evaluate their real potential in large-scale facilities. Chemical auxiliaries, commonly present in textile wastewaters (NaCl = 30 g/L, Na2CO3 = 5 g/L, and CH3COONa = 1 g/L), affect both the economic and environmental performance of the process because they increase the treatment time (from 0.5 to 24 h) and the consumption of H2SO4 (657%) and NaOH (148%) during conditioning steps. The life cycle assessment (LCA) performed with the IPCC-2013 method revealed that dyeing auxiliaries increase from 1.06 to 3.73 (252%) the emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-Eqv/m3). Electricity consumption can be considered an environmental hotspot because it represents 60% of the carbon footprint of the Fenton process. Also, the presence of auxiliaries is critical for the process because it results in the increase of the relative impact (between 50 and 80%) in all environmental categories considered by the ReCiPe-2008 method. Chemical auxiliaries increased the costs of the treatment process in 178% (US$2.22/m3) due to the higher energy consumption and the additional reagent requirements. It is worthwhile mentioning that the technical simplicity of the Fenton process and its low economic and environmental costs turn this process into an attractive alternative for the treatment of textile effluents in emerging economies.

How does intensification influence the operational and environmental performance of photo-Fenton processes at acidic and circumneutral pH.

This study evaluates the technical, economical, and environmental impact of sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) as an enhancing agent in a photo-Fenton process within a solar-pond type reactor (SPR). Photo-Fenton (PF) and photo-Fenton intensified with the addition of persulfate (PFPS) processes decolorize 97% the azo dye direct blue 71 (DB71) and allow producing a highly biodegradable effluent. Intensification with persulfate allowed reducing treatment time in 33% (from 120 to 80 min) and the consumption of chemical auxiliaries needed for pH adjustment. Energy, reagents, and chemical auxiliaries are still and environmental hotspot for PF and PFPS; however, it is worth mentioning that their environmental footprint is lower than that observed for compound parabolic concentrator (CPC)-type reactors. A life-cycle assessment (LCA) confirms that H2O2, NaOH, and energy consumption are the variables with the highest impact from an environmental standpoint. The use of persulfate reduced the relative impact in 1.2 to 12% in 12 of the 18 environmental categories studied using the ReCiPe method. The PFPS process emits 1.23 kg CO2 (CO2-Eqv/m3 treated water). On the other hand, the PF process emits 1.28 kg CO2 (CO2-Eqv/m3 treated water). Process intensification, chemometric techniques, and the use of SPRs minimize the impact of some barriers (reagent and energy consumption, technical complexity of reactors, pressure drops, dirt on the reflecting surfaces, fragility of reactor materials), limiting the application of advanced oxidation systems at an industrial level, and decrease treatment cost as well as potential environmental impacts associated with energy and reagents consumption. Treatment costs for PF processes (US$0.78/m3) and PFPS processes (US$0.63/m3) were 20 times lower than those reported for photo-Fenton processes in CPC-type reactors.

Trastornos neuropsiquiátricos en la población con VIH: una revisión narrativa / Neuropsychiatric Disorders in the People Living with HIV: A Narrative Review

Introducción: el sistema nervioso central es uno de los órganos afectados, de manera directa e indirecta, por el VIH; adicionalmente, los trastornos psiquiátricos son más frecuentes en esta población. Objetivo: comprender la patogénesis, las manifestaciones clínicas y el manejo de las enfermedades neuropsiquiátricas en la población con VIH. Métodos: se realizó una búsqueda en las bases de datos Medline, Embase, SciELO, LILACS y Psychlnfo utilizando término libres y MeSH. Resultados: los trastornos neuropsiquiátricos generan un impacto negativo en el tratamiento y seguimiento de los pacientes con VIH, lo cual disminuye su adherencia al tratamiento y aumenta las dificultades en su manejo integral. Llamativamente, existe una falta de estudios latinoamericanos en esta área.

Introduction: HIV is the infectious disease with the biggest worldwide impact in the last decades. For this reason, the control of this disease was induded in the millennium objectives of the UN. There has been a long time interest for studying the psychiatric comorbidities in these patients due to its impact in survival. Níethods: A research in the data bases Medline, Embase, SciELO, LILACS, and Psychlnfo was made using free terms and MeSH terms. Results: The neuropsychiatric disorders have a negative impact in the treatment and control of HIV positive patients, reducing their adherence and increasing the difficulties in the comprehensive treatment. There is a déficit in studies that could clear up this relationship in Colombian population.