Decrease in active hepatitis C infection among people who use drugs in Madrid, Spain, 2017 to 2023: a retrospective study.

BackgroundPeople who use drugs (PWUD) are a key target population to reduce the burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.AimTo assess risk factors and temporal trends of active HCV infection in PWUD in Madrid, Spain.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study between 2017 and 2023, including 2,264 PWUD visiting a mobile screening unit. Data about epidemiology, substance use and sexual risk behaviour were obtained through a 92-item questionnaire. HCV was detected by antibody test, followed by RNA test. The primary outcome variable was active HCV infection prevalence, calculated considering all individuals who underwent RNA testing and analysed by logistic regression adjusted by the main risk factors.ResultsOf all participants, 685 tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies, and 605 underwent RNA testing; 314 had active HCV infection, and 218 initiated treatment. People who inject drugs (PWID) were identified as the main risk group. The active HCV infection rate showed a significant downward trend between 2017 and 2023 in the entire study population (23.4% to 6.0%), among PWID (41.0% to 15.0%) and PWUD without injecting drug use (7.0% to 1.3%) (p < 0.001 for all). These downward trends were confirmed by adjusted logistic regression for the entire study population (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.78), PWID (aOR: 0.78), and PWUD non-IDU (aOR: 0.78).ConclusionsOur study demonstrates a significant reduction in active HCV infection prevalence among PWUD, particularly in PWID, which suggests that efforts in the prevention and treatment of HCV in Madrid, Spain, have had an impact on the control of HCV infection.

Bias polarity dependent low-frequency noise in ultra-thin AlOx-based magnetic tunnel junctions.

We exploit bias polarity dependent low-frequency noise (LFN) spectroscopy to investigate charge transport dynamics in ultra-thin AlOx-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with bipolar resistive switching (RS). By measuring the noise characteristics across the entire bias voltage range of bipolar RS, we find that the voltage noise level exhibits an bias polarity dependence. This distinct feature is intimately correlated with reconfiguring of the inherently existing oxygen vacancies ( V O . . ) in as-grown MTJ devices during the SET and RESET switching processes. In addition, we observe two-level random telegraph noise (RTN) with a longer and shorter tunneling length in the high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS) at a low bias voltage. The intrinsic voltage fluctuations of RTN arise from the dynamics of electron trapping/de-trapping processes at the V O . . -related trap sites. Notably, the RTN magnitude is similar in LRS but nonidentical in that of HRS for different bias polarity. These findings strongly suggest that the inherent V O . . are distributed near the top CoFe/AlOx interface in the HRS; in contrast, they are expanded to the middle region of the AlOx in the LRS. More importantly, we demonstrate that the location and distribution of the inherent V O . . can be electrically tuned, which plays an essential role in the charge transport dynamics in the ultra-thin AlOx-based MTJs and have significant implications for developing emergent memory and logic devices.

Immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in cancer patients after COVID-19 vaccination during the Omicron wave: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients often have weakened immune systems, resulting in a lower response to vaccines, especially those receiving immunosuppressive oncological treatment (OT). We aimed to assess the impact of OT on the humoral and T-cell response to the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with solid and hematological neoplasms. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study on cancer patients, stratified into OT and non-OT groups, who received a two-dose series of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and a booster six months later. The outcomes measured were the humoral (anti-SARS-CoV-2 S IgG titers and ACE2-S interaction inhibition capacity) and cellular (SARS-CoV-2 S-specific T-cell spots per million PBMCs) responses against the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant. These responses were evaluated four weeks after the second dose (n = 98) and eight weeks after the booster dose (n = 71). RESULTS: The humoral response after the second vaccine dose against the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant was significantly weaker in the OT group compared to the non-OT group (q-value<0.05). A booster dose of the mRNA-1273 vaccine significantly improved the humoral response in the OT group, making it comparable to the non-OT group. The mRNA-1273 vaccine, designed for the original Wuhan strain, elicited a weaker humoral response against the Omicron variant compared to the B.1 lineage, regardless of oncological treatment or vaccine dose. In contrast, T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron variant, were already present after the second vaccine dose and were not significantly affected by oncological treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer patients, particularly those receiving immunosuppressive oncological treatments, should require booster doses and adapted COVID-19 vaccines for new SARS-CoV-2 variants like Omicron. Future studies should evaluate the durability of the immune response and the efficacy of individualized regimens.

Malacoplaquia vesical. Informe de un caso de comportamiento maligno / Malocoplakia of the bladder with malignant behavior. Report of a case

La malacoplaquia es una patología benigna que en ocasiones puede tener comportamiento maligno como lo es el caso de este informe de un varón de 45 años de edad que falleció por causa de esta enfermedad, y en el cual las diversas biopsias tomadas muestran las distintas etapas evolutivas de esta patología, en la cual existe un defecto en el 3,5, guanosinmonofosfato cíclico que perturba la capacidad fagocitaria de la célula permitiendo la situación intracelular de la E. Coli, según este principio, el tratamiento con colinérgicos del tipo del betanecol añadidos al uso del trimetropim con sulfametoxazol parece ser lo más recomendable hasta el momento