Indications for the use of dermal substitutes in patients with acute burns and in reconstructive surgery after burns: A systematic review.

Deep dermal and full-thickness burns often result in scar sequelae such as contractures, hypertrophy, pain and itching following split-thickness skin grafting. Dermal substitutes are currently employed alongside split-thickness skin grafting to enhance clinical outcomes, though their indications remain a subject of ongoing debate. This systematic review aims to clarify the indications for the application of dermal substitutes in burn patients, in both acute and reconstructive settings.

Survival of antimicrobial resistant Heidelberg inoculated into microcosms of fresh pine wood shavings for broiler litter.

. Heidelberg survived up to 21 days in PWS which is often used as broiler bedding. .

Outcomes of dermal substitutes in burns and burn scar reconstruction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Dermal substitutes have been introduced in burn care to improve wound healing outcomes; however, their use remains limited in standard treatments. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the outcomes of dermal substitutes in patients with burns and patients requiring burn scar reconstruction and subsequently contribute to optimising the integration of dermal substitutes into clinical practice and reducing the knowledge gap. A comprehensive search across various databases included human studies from peer-reviewed journals on dermal substitutes for deep dermal and full-thickness burns, and scar reconstruction across all ages.

Characterization of microglia behaviour in healthy and pathological conditions with image analysis tools.

Microglia are very sensitive to changes in the environment and respond through morphological, functional and metabolic adaptations. To depict the modifications microglia undergo under healthy and pathological conditions, we developed free access image analysis scripts to quantify microglia morphologies and phagocytosis. Neuron-glia cultures, in which microglia express the reporter tdTomato, were exposed to excitotoxicity or excitotoxicity + inflammation and analysed 8 h later.

Pretransplantation EASIX predicts intensive care unit admission in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

The Endothelial Activation and Stress Index (EASIX) is a laboratory-based prognosis index defined as creatinine × lactate dehydrogenase/platelets. When measured at pretransplantation evaluation (EASIX-PRE), it predicts allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) mortality. This study explores its ability to predict intensive care unit (ICU) admission and validates EASIX-PRE predictive power for overall survival (OS) and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) in 167 consecutive patients undergoing alloHCT.

Swept-source optical coherence tomography objective composite activity score for uveitis.

Purpose: To develop an objective intraocular inflammation composite score.

Methods: Cross-sectional study. Non-invasive image acquisition and processing were conducted from April 2017 to April 2019.

Automated Quantitative Analysis of Mitochondrial Morphology.

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that in most cells behave as a dynamic network and can change their biogenesis and structure depending on the cell needs or as a response to different conditions. Analyzing the architecture of mitochondria is determinant to describe their state and function. In this chapter, image processing techniques are applied in a workflow manner to segment the mitochondrial network and extract the most relevant parameters that enable an accurate morphology analysis.

Microglial cell loss after ischemic stroke favors brain neutrophil accumulation.

Stroke attracts neutrophils to the injured brain tissue where they can damage the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and exacerbate the lesion. However, the mechanisms involved in neutrophil transmigration, location and accumulation in the ischemic brain are not fully elucidated. Neutrophils can reach the perivascular spaces of brain vessels after crossing the endothelial cell layer and endothelial basal lamina of post-capillary venules, or migrating from the leptomeninges following pial vessel extravasation and/or a suggested translocation from the skull bone marrow.

A small population of liver endothelial cells undergoes endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in response to chronic liver injury.

Rising evidence points to endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) as a significant source of the mesenchymal cell population in fibrotic diseases. In this context, we hypothesized that liver endothelial cells undergo EndMT during fibrosis progression. Cirrhosis in mice was induced by CCl A transgenic mouse expressing a red fluorescent protein reporter under the control of Tie2 promoter (Tie2-tdTomato) was used to trace the acquisition of EndMT.

Isolation Methods of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Spanish Biobanks: An Overview.

The Spanish Hematic Derivatives Group, consisting of 26 biobanks, was established in 2011. We describe here the viability results of our publically available standard operating procedure to freeze and thaw peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Our protocol maximizes PBMC viability while avoiding where possible interbiobank and intrabiobank assay variability.

Transcription-dependent radial distribution of TCF7L2 regulated genes in chromosome territories.

Human chromosomes occupy distinct territories in the interphase nucleus. Such chromosome territories (CTs) are positioned according to gene density. Gene-rich CTs are generally located in the center of the nucleus, while gene-poor CTs are positioned more towards the nuclear periphery.

Epidemiology of sepsis in Catalonia: analysis of incidence and outcomes in a European setting.

Background: Up-to-date identification of local trends in sepsis incidence and outcomes is of considerable public health importance. The aim of our study was to estimate annual incidence rates and in-hospital mortality trends for hospitalized patients with sepsis in a European setting, while avoiding selection bias in relation to different complexity hospitals.

Methods: A large retrospective analysis of a 5-year period (2008-2012) was conducted of hospital discharge records obtained from the Catalan Health System (CatSalut) Minimum Basic Data Set for Acute-Care Hospitals (a mandatory population-based register of admissions to all public and private acute-care hospitals in Catalonia).

[Road traffic injuries in Catalonia (Spain): an approach using the minimum data set for acute-care hospitals and emergency resources].

Objective: To verify the usefulness of the minimum data set (MDS) for acute-care hospitals and emergency resources for the study of road traffic injuries and to describe the use of health resources in Catalonia (Spain).

Methods: The study population consisted of patients treated in any kind of emergency service and patients admitted for acute hospitalization in Catalonia in 2013. A descriptive analysis was performed by age, gender, time and clinical variables.

[Can psychopathy be detected psychophysiologically?].

The aim of the present study was to determine whether pupillometry was able to identify and differentiate psychopathic personality traits in criminally responsible mentally disordered offenders (§ 21/2 StGB). Psychopathic disorder has not only behavioral, but also psychophysiological correlates, which may be evaluated by pupillometry. This might make it possible to diagnose psychopathy by means of a non-invasive method and in a further step to adapt therapeutic measures accordingly.

A polymorphism in the TYMP gene is associated with the outcome of HLA-identical sibling allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Thymidine phosphorylase (TYMP), an enzyme involved in nucleotide synthesis, has been implicated in critical biological processes such as DNA replication, protection against mutations, and tissue repair. In this work, we retrospectively evaluated the influence of a polymorphism in the TYMP gene (rs112723255; G/A) upon the outcome of 448 patients subjected to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) from an human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical sibling donor. The TYMP genotype of patients correlated with overall survival-carriers of the minor allele (A) being at an increased risk of dying after transplantation (hazard ratio, HR = 1.

Approximation and spatial regionalization of rainfall erosivity based on sparse data in a mountainous catchment of the Yangtze River in Central China.

In densely populated countries like China, clean water is one of the most challenging issues of prospective politics and environmental planning. Water pollution and eutrophication by excessive input of nitrogen and phosphorous from nonpoint sources is mostly linked to soil erosion from agricultural land. In order to prevent such water pollution by diffuse matter fluxes, knowledge about the extent of soil loss and the spatial distribution of hot spots of soil erosion is essential.

[Comparative analysis of serological tests performed in immigrants in the Lleida health area].

Objective: Evaluate the process of screening and detection of HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis in the province of Lleida by determining the proportions of positive results in the different groups during one year.

Design: Descriptive, multicentre study of all the serological tests performed in immigrants and natives attended in 2007.

Setting: Province of Lleida (Spain).

[Does the duration of confinement of criminally responsible mentally disordered offenders (§ 21/2 StGB) play a role in the development of a functional psychosyndrome? - A pupillometric investigation].

Background: Pupillometry is a non-invasive investigation based on the concept that pupillary reagibility depends on a number of specific sensory, mental and emotional variables. By means of the receptor test based on the topical application of the cholinergic antagonist tropicamide cognitive deficits can be evaluated. The present study focuses on the question whether the receptor test is able to differentiate criminally responsible mentally disordered offenders (§ 21/2 StGB) with different durations of confinement concerning the presence of a functional psychosyndrome, as defined by Grünberger.

Direct analysis of bacterial viability in endotracheal tube biofilm from a pig model of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia following antimicrobial therapy.

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) helps to observe the biofilms formed in the endotracheal tube (ETT) of ventilated subjects and to determine its structure and bacterial viability using specific dyes. We compared the effect of three different treatments (placebo, linezolid, and vancomycin) on the bacterial biofilm viability captured by CLSM. Eight pigs with pneumonia induced by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were ventilated up to 96 h and treated with linezolid, vancomycin, or placebo (controls).

Epidermal Langerhans cells in small fiber neuropathies.

We quantified the immune histiocytic Langerhans cells (LCs) in skin biopsy samples of patients with distal small fiber neuropathy (SFN). Patients were divided according to the presence or absence of neuropathic pain (burning pain) assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS). We studied 13 diabetic patients (pain-DSFN), 7 nondiabetic patients (pain-SFN) who reported relevant neuropathic pain (VAS ≥ 3), and 6 nondiabetic patients without neuropathic pain (no-pain-SFN).

Hospitalizations due to rotavirus gastroenteritis in Catalonia, Spain, 2003-2008.

Background: Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis among young children in Spain and worldwide. We evaluated hospitalizations due to community and hospital-acquired rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) and estimated related costs in children under 5 years old in Catalonia, Spain.

Results: We analyzed hospital discharge data from the Catalan Health Services regarding hospital admissions coded as infectious gastroenteritis in children under 5 for the period 2003-2008.

Axonal fluorescence quantitation provides a new approach to assess cutaneous innervation.

We present a novel approach to quantify skin innervation by measuring the PGP 9.5 immunoreactive (PGP-ir) fluorescence corresponding to axons within the epidermis and dermis. The skin biopsies from 35 controls and 45 small fiber neuropathy (SFN) patients were included.

[Observational study on drug spending in the immigrant and the indigenous population in the Lleida (Catalonia) health region].

Objective: To evaluate whether there are differences in drug spending between immigrant and Spanish-born populations and to assess whether drug consumption is associated with living environment (urban/rural).

Design: Observational cross-sectional study.

Setting: Lleida Health Region (LHR).

Sick leave among native and immigrant workers in Spain--a 6-month follow-up study.

Objectives: The incidence and the duration of sick leave were studied among immigrants and the native-born population in Spain.

Methods: This observational follow-up study included 1427 immigrants and 2793 Spanish natives treated at five primary care centers in Lleida in 2005 and followed for 6 months. The sick leave causes were coded according to the International Classification of Diseases (10th revision).