Prenatal arsenic exposure, arsenic methylation efficiency, and neuropsychological development among preschool children in a Spanish birth cohort.

Background: Prenatal arsenic (As) exposure could negatively affect child neuropsychological development, but the current evidence is inconclusive.

Objectives: To explore the relationship between prenatal urinary total As (TAs) concentrations, the As species and the methylation efficiency, and child neuropsychological development in a Spanish birth cohort. We also studied the effect modification produced by sex and several nutrients and elements.

Calf circumference is an independent predictor of mortality in older adults: An approach with generalized additive models.

Background: There is a wide variation in the cutoff points of body mass index (BMI) and calf circumference (CC) , and it is necessary to assess their adequacy in predicting mortality, especially in the older adults in the community. This study aimed to investigate the association of low muscle mass and underweight with mortality in older adults, comparing different cutoff points.

Methods: This was a prospective study that included 796 older adults, not institutionalized, from a Brazilian city.

Pressurized Extraction as an Opportunity to Recover Antioxidants from Orange Peels: Heat treatment and Nanoemulsion Design for Modulating Oxidative Stress.

Orange peel by-products generated in the food industry are an important source of value-added compounds that can be potentially reused. In the current research, the effect of oven-drying (50-70 °C) and freeze-drying on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential from Navelina, Salustriana, and Sanguina peel waste was investigated using pressurized extraction (ASE). Sixty volatile components were identified by ASE-GC-MS.

New developments in the diagnosis of primary immune thrombocytopenia.

Immune thrombocytopenia is an acquired autoimmune disorder, which can affect both adults and children, characterized by lower than normal platelet counts (below 100 × 109/l). Thrombocytopenia may result in an increased risk of bleeding and puts patients at risk for serious complications. In the last decade, the multifactorial pathogenesis of ITP has become apparent, leading to greater understanding that different immune-mediated mechanisms could be involved in each patient, explaining the variable clinical presentation and response to therapies.

Serum metal levels in a population of Spanish pregnant women.

Objective: To describe serum levels of calcium, copper, selenium, magnesium, iron and zinc and evaluate their relationship with maternal socio-demographic characteristics and dietary variables in women in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Method: Cross-sectional study with 1279 participants from the INMA cohorts.

Results: The concentrations of the elements analyzed were within the normal range.

The role of pumpkin pulp extract carotenoids against mycotoxin damage in the blood brain barrier .

Some mycotoxins such as beauvericin (BEA), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEA) can cross the blood brain barrier, which is why we tested the anti-inflammatory action of a pumpkin carotenoid extract (from the pulp) against these mycotoxins and their combinations (OTA+ZEA and OTA+ZEA+BEA) on a blood brain barrier model with co-cultured ECV304 and C6 cells using an untargeted metabolomic approach. The cells were added with mycotoxins at a concentration of 100 nmol/L per mycotoxin and pumpkin carotenoid extract at 500 nmol/L. For control we used only vehicle solvent (cell control) or vehicle solvent with pumpkin extract (extract control).

Frequency of microsatellite instability (MSI) in upper tract urothelial carcinoma: comparison of the Bethesda panel and the Idylla MSI assay in a consecutively collected, multi-institutional cohort.

Aims: Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis which occurs sporadically or in few cases results from a genetic disorder called Lynch syndrome. Recently, examination of microsatellite instability (MSI) has gained importance as a biomarker: MSI tumours are associated with a better response to immunomodulative therapies. Limited data are known about the prevalence of MSI in UTUC.

DNA methylation changes associated with prenatal mercury exposure: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies from PACE consortium.

Mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous heavy metal that originates from both natural and anthropogenic sources and is transformed in the environment to its most toxicant form, methylmercury (MeHg). Recent studies suggest that MeHg exposure can alter epigenetic modifications during embryogenesis. In this study, we examined associations between prenatal MeHg exposure and levels of cord blood DNA methylation (DNAm) by meta-analysis in up to seven independent studies (n = 1462) as well as persistence of those relationships in blood from 7 to 8 year-old children (n = 794).

Expected years lived with intimate partner violence: a new approach for public health.

Background: Intimate Partner Violence against women (IPV) is a major public health problem. However, mainstream indicators used in public health are not designed to fully capture the pervasive and enduring impact of IPV.

Objective: We propose a new indicator that considers the burden of IPV in women during their middle life years, estimating the number of years that women are expected to live under IPV, and provide estimates for 151 countries.

Clinically-Driven Virtual Patient Cohorts Generation: An Application to Aorta.

The combination of machine learning methods together with computational modeling and simulation of the cardiovascular system brings the possibility of obtaining very valuable information about new therapies or clinical devices through experiments. However, the application of machine learning methods demands access to large cohorts of patients. As an alternative to medical data acquisition and processing, which often requires some degree of manual intervention, the generation of virtual cohorts made of synthetic patients can be automated.

Expanding the genetic spectrum of TUBB1-related thrombocytopenia.

β1-Tubulin plays a major role in proplatelet formation and platelet shape maintenance, and pathogenic variants in TUBB1 lead to thrombocytopenia and platelet anisocytosis (TUBB1-RT). To date, the reported number of pedigrees with TUBB1-RT and of rare TUBB1 variants with experimental demonstration of pathogenicity is limited. Here, we report 9 unrelated families presenting with thrombocytopenia carrying 6 β1-tubulin variants, p.

Post-COVID syndrome. A case series and comprehensive review.

The existence of a variety of symptoms with a duration beyond the acute phase of COVID-19, is referred to as post-COVID syndrome (PCS). We aimed to report a series of patients with PCS attending a Post-COVID Unit and offer a comprehensive review on the topic. Adult patients with previously confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and PCS were systematically assessed through a semi-structured and validated survey.

Microscopic and virtual approaches to oral pathology: A case study from El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain).

Background: The analysis and diagnosis of ancient oral pathologies have been improved with the application of new techniques such as microscopy and scanning methods over the past few decades. However, the enhancement of the diagnosis implies a prior knowledge of the availability and suitability of such equipments.

Methods: In this work we examined 3D digital and scanning electron microscopy and two computed tomography systems (CBCT and microCT) in order to assess dental and oral disease of the individuals of a Chalcolithic collective burial from El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain).

Reference standards for gene fusion molecular assays on cytological samples: an international validation study.

Aims: Gene fusions assays are key for personalised treatments of advanced human cancers. Their implementation on cytological material requires a preliminary validation that may make use of cell line slides mimicking cytological samples. In this international multi-institutional study, gene fusion reference standards were developed and validated.

A comparison of multiple neighborhood matrix specifications for spatio-temporal model fitting: a case study on COVID-19 data.

Establishing proper neighbor relations between a set of spatial units under analysis is essential when carrying out a spatial or spatio-temporal analysis. However, it is usual that researchers choose some of the most typical (and simple) neighborhood structures, such as the first-order contiguity matrix, without exploring other options. In this paper, we compare the performance of different neighborhood matrices in the context of modeling the weekly relative risk of COVID-19 over small areas located in or near Valencia, Spain.

Exposure to metals and metalloids among pregnant women from Spain: Levels and associated factors.

Background: Humans are regularly exposed to metals and metalloids present in air, water, food, soil and domestic materials. Most of them can cross the placental barrier and cause adverse impacts on the developing foetus.

Objectives: To describe the prenatal concentrations of metals and metalloids and to study the associated sociodemographic, environmental and dietary factors in pregnant Spanish women.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing for essential food production workers: evolving thinking, pilot testing, and lessons learned.

An essential part of U.S. coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) critical infrastructure is the country's food-production workforce.

Technology-enhanced and game based learning for children with special needs: a systematic mapping study.

Technology-based education of children with special needs has become the focus of many research works in recent years. The wide range of different disabilities that are encompassed by the term "special needs", together with the educational requirements of the children affected, represent an enormous multidisciplinary challenge for the research community. In this article, we present a systematic literature review of technology-enhanced and game-based learning systems and methods applied on children with special needs.