Fungal volatiles emitted by members of the microbiome of desert plants are diverse and capable of promoting plant growth.

Fungi represent a group of eukaryotic microorganisms that are an important part of the plant microbiome. They produce a vast array of metabolites, including fungal volatile organic compounds (fVOCs). However, the diversity and biological activities of fVOCs emitted by the mycobiota of plants native to arid and semi-arid environments remain under-explored. We characterized the chemical diversity of fVOCs produced by 22 representative members of the microbiome of agaves and cacti using SPME-GC-MS. We further tested the effects of pure compounds on the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana and host plants. Members of the Sordariomycetes (nine strains), Eurotiomycetes (three), Dothideomycetes (eight), Saccharomycetes (one) and Mucoromycetes (one) were included in our study. We identified 94 fungal organic volatiles classified into nine chemical classes. Terpenes showed the greatest chemical diversity, followed by alcohols and aliphatic compounds. We discovered that camphene and benzyl benzoate, together with the widely distributed and already tested benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethyl alcohol and 3-methyl-1-butanol, improved plant growth and development of A. thaliana, Agave tequilana and Agave salmiana. Our studies on the fungal VOCs from desert plants underscore an untapped chemical diversity with promising biotechnological applications.

Novel consortium of Klebsiella variicola and Lactobacillus species enhances the functional potential of fermented dairy products by increasing the availability of branched-chain amino acids and the amount of distinctive volatiles.

AIMS: Identify novel bacterial taxa that could increase the availability of branched-chain amino acids and the amount of distinctive volatiles during skim milk fermentation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We recovered 344 bacterial isolates from stool samples of healthy and breastfed infants. Five were selected based on their ability to produce branched-chain amino acids. Three strains were identified as Escherichia coli, one as Klebsiella pneumoniae and other as Klebsiella variicola by molecular and biochemical methods. HPLC and solid-phase microextraction with GC-MS were used for the determination of free amino acids and volatile compounds respectively. The consortium formed by K. variicola and four Lactobacillus species showed the highest production of Leu and Ile in skim milk fermentation. In addition, the production of volatile compounds, such as acetoin, ethanol, 2-nonanone, and acetic, hexanoic and octanoic acids, increased in comparison to commercial yogurt, Emmental and Gouda cheese. Also, distinctive volatiles, such as 2,3-butanediol, 4-methyl-2- hexanone and octanol, were identified. CONCLUSION: The use of K. variicola in combination with probiotic Lactobacillus species enhances the availability of Leu and Ile and the amount of distinctive volatiles during skim milk fermentation. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The identified consortium increases the functional potential of fermented dairy products.

Juvenile, adult and late-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: a long term follow-up study from a geographic and ethnically homogeneous population.

OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to identify clinical and serological differences, damage accrual and mortality, in juvenile, adult and late-onset SLE. METHODS: We conducted our study with patients fulfilling SLE classification criteria taken from the Hospital Gregorio Marañon Autoimmune Systemic Rheumatic Diseases' Registry (1986 to 2012). Clinical characteristics, laboratory data and therapies used during the course of the disease were analysed with patients divided into 3 groups: juvenile-onset (≤ 18 years), adult-onset (19-50) and late onset (>50 years). RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-five patients were included. Renal disease and cutaneous manifestations were more frequent in the juvenile-onset group at disease onset. During follow-up, juvenile-onset group presented a higher incidence of renal disease, malar rash, Raynaud's phenomenon, cutaneous vasculitis, and neuropsychiatric manifestations than the other two groups. Arthritis and lymphopoenia were more frequent in the adult-onset group. Arterial hypertension and neoplasm were more frequent in the late-onset group. Low serum complement, anti-dsDNA, anti-U1RNP and anti-Sm antibodies were more common in the juvenile-onset group. Patients with late-onset SLE had more damage accrual. Thirty-seven patients (8.3%) died during the study. All-cause mortality was significantly higher in the late-onset group. Age at disease onset >50 years was an independent risk factor for damage accrual (OR, 2.2; 95%CI, 1.1-4.6; p=0.029) and mortality (OR, 2.6; 95%CI, 1.1-6.3; p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We found significant differences in clinical and serological profiles between juvenile, adult and late-onset SLE. The most significant of which was a higher prevalence of neuropsychiatric and renal complications as well as different autoantibody signatures for the juvenile-onset group.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Technology System to Improve Safety of the Oncohematology Medication Practices

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to describe the process of implementing a technology system to improve safety and quality in all processes involved in the treatment with parenteral antineoplastic agents within an interdisciplinary team and to analyze the errors detected and avoided thanks to this system at the different stages of the process. MATERIALS AND METHODS Observational and retrospective study where the implementation of an expert technology system in all phases of the therapeutic process is described: prescription, validation, preparation and administration of drugs, in which errors found in the different phases are analysed. A descriptive analysis of the errors recorded in the various stages of the process was carried out during 3 months. RESULTS There were a total of 2185 preparations belonging to 382 patients. 14 prescription errors were recorded, representing 0.6% of prescriptions. All were potential errors that the system helped to avoid and did not reach the patient. Quality control results: a total of 93 (4.2%) incorrect code readings were detected and 16 (0.7%) readings for wrong components / wrong drugs. Results of quantitative control: 95 mixtures (4.3%) were prepared incorrectly - 29 (1.3%) due to an overdosage, and 66 (3.0%) because of an underdosage. CONCLUSION Introduction of a new support technology to increase pharmacotherapeutic security in oncohematology, has been successfully achieved in all stages of the process. In the study period the implemented system successfully intercepted all the incidents that could have become errors in 6.9% of the prescribed mixtures, therefore no error reached any patient.

[Introduction of capillary glycosylated haemoglobin determination in a Primary Care Health Area: Multicentre study of the evolution of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus]. / Implantación de la determinación de hemoglobina glucosilada capilar en un Área de Salud: estudio multicéntrico sobre evolución de pacientes con diabetes mellitus de tipo 2.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a joint intervention that included educational components, self-assessment, and information to optimise diabetes control through the introduction of instant capillary glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) determination in Primary Care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicentre prospective descriptive study was carried out over 3years in 10Primary Care Centres of the Area VII Murcia East. At the end of the study there were 804 patients with type 2 diabetes (DM2). Patients were divided into 4 groups based on initial values of HbA1c, and if changes in their treatment were needed. HbA1c, body mass index, and blood pressure were monitored. A financial assessment was also performed on the impact of the implementation of a protocol to measure instant capillary RESULTS: A significant reduction was observed in HbA1c values. The initial HbA1c mean value was 7.4±1.4%, which decreased to a final value of 6.9±1.0% (P<.001). At the end of the study, 71.4% of patients included reached diabetic control objectives. In addition, the financial assessment demonstrated that the implementation of this diabetes control system led to a decrease of the 24.7% in spending on glucose strips after the first year of study in Area VII Murcia Health Service. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of capillary HbA1c determination in Primary Care has demonstrated to improve diabetes control and the efficiency of the health personnel. Furthermore, a reduction in the health costs of patients with DM2 was also shown.

Anesthesia-related periodic involuntary movement in an obstetrical patient for cesarean section under epidural anesthesia: a case report.

Anesthesia-related periodic involuntary movements in a patient with regional anesthesia or etomidate anesthesia can be alarming. This case report describes anesthesia-related periodic involuntary movement in a patient undergoing cesarean section with epidural anesthesia. The anesthesia-related periodic involuntary movement occurred postoperatively in the recovery room. The discussion includes a brief review of spinal cord anatomy and physiology, as well as a review of the literature describing similar events.

Critical review of articles regarding pregnancy exposures in popular magazines.

To determine the scope of teratogen information available to the public through the media, a survey of 15 popular magazines was conducted. All 1985 issues of the selected magazines were reviewed for articles addressing pregnancy exposure concerns, yielding 56 articles from 10 magazines. The remaining 5 publications provided no pertinent articles. Two health professionals, both experienced teratology counselors, independently rated each article for accuracy of content and quality of presentation based on standardized evaluation criteria. The findings were compared and agreement for all criteria in each article was reached by the 2 reviewers. Regarding the quality of the information in the 56 articles, 31 (55.4%) were scored as misleading or inaccurate. On examination of overall presentation, 26 (46.4%) were rated as alarming and 8 (14.3%) presented a false sense of security; 22 (39.3%) provided a balanced presentation. A review of the types of articles rated revealed 19 (33.9%) general overviews of pregnancy issues, 18 (32.1%) news stories, 17 (30.4%) question-and-answer columns, and 2 (3.6%) feature stories. Of the reviewed papers, 7 (12.5%) included a citation from which the primary data could be obtained and only 14 of the articles (25%) suggested that the reader contact her/his healthcare provider regarding the issues. We conclude that the information available in popular magazines regarding exposures in pregnancy is frequently misleading, alarming, and unsupported by the scientific literature.

[Postgraduate education in family and community medicine. The importance of differences between health care activity of the tutor and the resident]. / La formación posgraduada en medicina familiar y comunitaria. La importancia de las diferencias entre la actividad asistencial del tutor y del residente.

OBJECTIVE: To find the health-care activity of Family and Community Medicine (FCM) Interns (I) during their third year of Primary Care duties, to check the existence of significant differences with the Tutor's (T) health-care activity, and to evaluate, using the requests for complementary tests and the referral rate, possible qualitative differences in the outcome of on-demand consultations. DESIGN: A descriptive and retrospective observation study, with two parts, each corresponding to one objective. SETTING: Primary Health Care. The Carmen Health Centre in Murcia, used for teaching postgraduate FCM. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 489 cases of those requesting health consultations between February 1st and December 21st, 1990 for the first part of the study; and all those consultations between April 8th and May 8th, 1991 for the second part. Covering five family practices. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The variables studied were: gender, age, the first or second medical consultation, administrative consultations, reasons for the consultation, the number of inter-referrals and the number of complementary tests. The I had fewer consultations a day than the T (p < 0.001), with a greater proportion of young people between 26 and 35 (p < 0.001) and with first (p < 0.001) and administrative (p < 0.001) consultations predominating. However no differences were observed regarding requests for complementary tests and referral rates. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Significant differences exist between the health-care activity of the T and the I. 2. The population selects the doctor who is going to care for them. 3. There were no differences observed in requests for complementary tests and the referral rates. 4. It would be important to assess the teaching repercussion of these differences and to introduce corrective mechanisms if it is thought necessary.

[Enteropathic arthritis]. / Artritis enteropática.

AIM: Description of a clinical case of enteropathic arthritis. DESIGN: Descriptive study. SITE. Health Centre. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A clinical case is described, starting with back pain where X-rays perceive no irregularity. Later a diagnosis of Crohn's disease is made. Finally lesions characteristic of anchylo-poyethic spondylitis appear. INTERVENTIONS: Corticosteroid treatment. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN FINDINGS: Clinical investigations and complementary diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Way in which spondylitis presents, with no clear X-ray indications. Importance of closely following the development of this type of patient.

[Enamel resistance to acid dissolution and its correlation with dental caries]. / Resistencia del esmalte a la disolución ácida y su correlación con la caries dental.

Enamel resistance to acid dissolution is a factor which has an influence upon dental caries susceptibility. The objectives of this study were to determine enamel resistance to acid dissolution by applying the RM technique, and to correlate data obtained to the prevalence of dental caries. Two hundred and seventy one children between seven and nine years of age were chosen by non probabilistic sampling in two city districts, (six public schools in Mexico City). These children's central permanent incisives had already erupted. The DMF-T and dmf-t indexes were recorded, and the RM enamel resistance test was performed on them. A total of 56.4% of the subjects in the sample had very resistant enamel and 27.3%, less resistant enamel. A proportion of 57.9% was free of dental caries on the permanent dentition and 10% in the temporary dentition. The average obtained for the DMF-T index was 0.93 +/- 1.34 and that for dmf-t was 4.7 +/- 3.1. Data suggest that enamel resistance distribution is not homogeneous and this increases proportionally in relation to the eruption third (p < 0.05.) Spearman's correlation coefficient was found to be negative and statistically significant at p < 0.05. The RM technique showed the presence of individuals with different enamel resistance to acid dissolution.