Optical Responses of Localized and Extended Modes in a Mesoporous Layer on Plasmonic Array to Isopropanol Vapor.

Mesoporous silica features open and accessible pores that can intake substances from the outside. The combination of mesoporous silica with plasmonic nanostructures represents an interesting platform for an optical sensor based on the dependence of plasmonic modes on the refractive index of the medium in which metallic nanoparticles are embedded. However, so far only a limited number of plasmonic nanostructures are combined with mesoporous silica, including random dispersion of metallic nanoparticles and flat metallic thin films.

A 3-year prospective study of a multidisciplinary early proactive therapeutic drug monitoring programme of infliximab treatments in inflammatory bowel disease.

Aims: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of trough serum infliximab concentrations has been mainly used in case of loss of response in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a multidisciplinary early proactive TDM (mep-TDM) programme for dose adjustment.

Methods: A 3-year prospective study was conducted based on a sample of 81 patients who started treatment and were subsequently subjected to mep-TDM with the first control at week 14.

Class Imbalance Impact on the Prediction of Complications during Home Hospitalization: A Comparative Study.

Home hospitalization (HH) is presented as a healthcare alternative capable of providing high standards of care when patients no longer need hospital facilities. Although HH seems to lower healthcare costs by shortening hospital stays and improving patient's quality of life, the lack of continuous observation at home may lead to complications in some patients. Since blood tests have been proven to provide relevant prognosis information in many diseases, this paper analyzes the impact of different sampling methods on the prediction of HH outcomes.

Microbiological contamination of conventional and reclaimed irrigation water: Evaluation and management measures.

The wide diversity of irrigation water sources (i.e., drinking water, groundwater, reservoir water, river water) includes reclaimed water as a requested measure for increasing water availability, but it is also a challenge as pathogen exposure may increase.

Effect of hydrolysis and microwave treatment on the antibacterial activity of native bovine milk lactoferrin against Cronobacter sakazakii.

Bovine lactoferrin (bLF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein used in functional and therapeutic products due to its biological properties, the most important being its antimicrobial activity. In this study, hydrolysates of bovine lactoferrin (bLFH) obtained with pepsin, chymosin and microbial rennet were assayed against Cronobacter sakazakii (10 CFU/mL) in different media: phosphate buffered saline (PBS), bovine skim milk and whey, and reconstituted powdered infant formula (PIFM). The results obtained have shown that hydrolysis of bLF enhances its antibacterial activity against C.

Phytogenic actives supplemented in hyperprolific sows: effects on maternal transfer of phytogenic compounds, colostrum and milk features, performance and antioxidant status of sows and their offspring, and piglet intestinal gene expression.

Phytogenic actives (PA) are plant-derived natural bioactive compounds that may promote livestock health and well-being, as well as improve growth performance and production efficiency. The current study aims to evaluate their effects on sows and their offspring. Eighty-one hyperprolific sows (up to parity 7) were assigned to 3 experimental treatments.

Evaluation of methods for DNA extraction from Clostridium tyrobutyricum spores and its detection by qPCR.

Clostridium tyrobutyricum is the major agent that causes the blowing defect in cheese due to the germination of its dormant spores during the ripening stage. As a result, many of the affected cheeses show cavities and cracks, which cause the product loss in most cases. Nowadays, there is not a fast method capable of detecting milk contaminated with C.

Safety of regadenoson for vasodilation in cardiac MRI stress tests.

Objective: To determine the safety of regadenoson for vasodilation in cardiac MRI stress tests to detect myocardial ischemia.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed cardiac MRI studies done in 120 patients (mean age, 67±11.6 years; 88 men) with suspected ischemic heart disease or known coronary disease who had clinical indications for cardiac MRI stress tests.

Emotion recognition from posed and spontaneous dynamic expressions: Human observers versus machine analysis.

The majority of research on the judgment of emotion from facial expressions has focused on deliberately posed displays, often sampled from single stimulus sets. Herein, we investigate emotion recognition from posed and spontaneous expressions, comparing classification performance between humans and machine in a cross-corpora investigation. For this, dynamic facial stimuli portraying the six basic emotions were sampled from a broad range of different databases, and then presented to human observers and a machine classifier.

The Genetics of Neuropathic Pain from Model Organisms to Clinical Application.

Neuropathic pain (NeuP) arises due to injury of the somatosensory nervous system and is both common and disabling, rendering an urgent need for non-addictive, effective new therapies. Given the high evolutionary conservation of pain, investigative approaches from Drosophila mutagenesis to human Mendelian genetics have aided our understanding of the maladaptive plasticity underlying NeuP. Successes include the identification of ion channel variants causing hyper-excitability and the importance of neuro-immune signaling.

Building a model to evaluate use of the National Program for Improving Primary Health Care Access and Quality in Brazil.

Objective: to build a model to evaluate use of the National Program for Improving Primary Health Care Access and Quality (PMAQ-AB) in Brazil.

Methods: document analysis and literature review followed by a consensus workshop with specialists, 19 specialists were invited who were selected because of their teaching or research experience, professional activities or publications related to the subject; validation took place on an online platform where participants were asked to analyze the evaluation proposal and to give their opinion based on the categories 'I totally agree', 'partially agree', and 'disagree'.

Results: 15 specialists confirmed their participation; at the end of three rounds, the specialists emphasized the clarity of the proposal and the clarity of the object of evaluation presented in both the Logic Model and the Theoretical Logic Model; the specialists fully agreed with the Evaluation Matrix and confirmed its theoretical consistency.

Large Multidirectional Spin-to-Charge Conversion in Low-Symmetry Semimetal MoTe at Room Temperature.

Efficient and versatile spin-to-charge current conversion is crucial for the development of spintronic applications, which strongly rely on the ability to electrically generate and detect spin currents. In this context, the spin Hall effect has been widely studied in heavy metals with strong spin-orbit coupling. While the high crystal symmetry in these materials limits the conversion to the orthogonal configuration, unusual configurations are expected in low-symmetry transition-metal dichalcogenide semimetals, which could add flexibility to the electrical injection and detection of pure spin currents.

Interstitial and Granulomatous Lung Disease in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients.

Background: Interstitial lung [ILD] disease and granulomatous lung disease [GLD] are rare respiratory disorders that have been associated with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. Clinical presentation is polymorphic and aetiology is unclear.

Methods: This was an ECCO-CONFER project.

Intercensal Brazilian municipality stratificatation updating for health performance evaluation, 2015.

Objective: to describe updating of stratification of the Brazilian municipalities in order to evaluate health performance.

Methods: this was a descriptive and methodological study with stratification of municipalities according to population size and conditions influencing health management, using data from the intercensal period (2015) and showing classification variations compared with the census period (2010); the original data on demographic characteristics, funding capacity and population purchasing power were adjusted for the year 2015 based on a baseline study conducted with census data.

Results: some 15% of the municipalities were reclassified in the intercensal period, with the main factors of change being the conditions influencing health management.

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.

Increased risk of thiopurine-related adverse events in elderly patients with IBD.

Background: Thiopurines are the most widely used immunosuppressants in IBD although drug-related adverse events (AE) occur in 20%-30% of cases.

Aim: To evaluate the safety of thiopurines in elderly IBD patients METHODS: Cohort study including all adult patients in the ENEIDA registry who received thiopurines. Patients were grouped in terms of age at the beginning of thiopurine treatment, specifically in those who started thiopurines over 60 years or between 18 and 50 years of age.

Dementia-related neuropsychiatric symptoms: inequalities in pharmacological treatment and institutionalization.

Background: Dementia-related neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are the main determinant of family stress and institutionalization of patients. This study aimed to identify inequalities by gender and socioeconomic status in the management of NPS in patients diagnosed with dementia.

Methods: An observational study was carried out to study all the cases of dementia in the corporate database of the Basque Health Service (29,864 patients).

Platelet Count in Patients with Mild Disease at Admission is Associated with Progression to Severe Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome.

Background: Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) has a mortality up to 35-40% and its treatment is mainly supportive. A variable to predict progression from mild to severe disease is unavailable. This study was performed in patients with documented infection by Andes orthohantavirus, and the aim was to find a simple variable to predict progression to moderate/severe HCPS in patients with mild disease at admission.

Endoscopic biliary drainage in unresectable biliary obstruction: the role of endoscopic ultrasound-guidance in a cohort study.

Background And Study Aims: the use of endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) has increased in cases of failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and there are some concerns. The main aim of the study was to determine the role of EUS-BD in a palliative case cohort. The secondary aim was to compare the efficacy, safety and survival of EUS-BD and ERCP procedures.

Intestinal Gel-Forming Mucins Polymerize by Disulfide-Mediated Dimerization of D3 Domains.

The mucin 2 glycoprotein assembles into a complex hydrogel that protects intestinal epithelia and houses the gut microbiome. A major step in mucin 2 assembly is further multimerization of preformed mucin dimers, thought to produce a honeycomb-like arrangement upon hydrogel expansion. Important open questions are how multiple mucin 2 dimers become covalently linked to one another and how mucin 2 multimerization compares with analogous processes in related polymers such as respiratory tract mucins and the hemostasis protein von Willebrand factor.

The Influence of -Cyclodextrin on the Reduction of Cholesterol Content in Egg and Duck Liver Pâté.

The use of -cyclodextrin (-CD) to reduce cholesterol is increasing in food research due to its affinity for non-polar molecules such as cholesterol. The objective of this study was to study the ability of -CD to remove cholesterol in natural egg, powdered egg, and duck liver pâté and its effect on individual fatty acids. A concentration of 5% of -CD was found to be a suitable amount to remove 80.

Chile's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (CAVEI): Evidence-based recommendations for public policy decision-making on vaccines and immunization.

A National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) provides independent, evidence-based recommendations to the Ministry of Health for immunization programmes and policy formulation. In this article, we describe the structure, functioning and work processes of Chile's NITAG (CAVEI) and assess its functionality, quality of work processes and outputs, and integration of the committee into the Ministry of Health policy process using the Assessment tool for National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups. Among its strengths, CAVEI's administrative and work plasticity allows it to respond in a timely manner to the Ministry of Health's requests and proactively raise subjects for review.

Evaluation of renal function equations to predict amikacin clearance.

: To evaluate the predictive performance of eight renal function equations to describe amikacin elimination in a large standard population with a wide range of age. : Retrospective study of adult hospitalized patients treated with amikacin and monitored in the clinical pharmacokinetics laboratory of a pharmacy service. Renal function was calculated as Cockcroft-Gault with total, adjusted and ideal body weight, MDRD-4, CKD-EPI, rLM, BIS1, and FAS.