Discovery and validation of plasma, saliva and multi-fluid plasma-saliva metabolomic scores predicting insulin resistance and diabetes progression or regression among Puerto Rican adults.

Aims/hypothesis: Many studies have examined the relationship between plasma metabolites and type 2 diabetes progression, but few have explored saliva and multi-fluid metabolites.

Methods: We used LC/MS to measure plasma (n=1051) and saliva (n=635) metabolites among Puerto Rican adults from the San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal Study. We used elastic net regression to identify plasma, saliva and multi-fluid plasma-saliva metabolomic scores predicting baseline HOMA-IR in a training set (n=509) and validated these scores in a testing set (n=340).

Impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Asthma, Hypertension, and Depression in a Sample of the Puerto Rico Population.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on 3 major chronic diseases in Puerto Rico.

Methods: San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal study participants were re-evaluated after Hurricanes Irma and Maria (May 2019-July 2020) for the Preparedness to Reduce Exposures and Diseases Post-hurricanes and Augment Resilience study. This study compared the prevalence and incidence of asthma, depression, and hypertension within the same 364 individuals over time.

Hurricanes Irma and Maria and Diabetes incidence in Puerto Rico.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of Hurricanes Irma/Maria on diabetes incidence in Puerto Rico. Mortality increased substantially after the hurricanes, but morbidity was not assessed.

Methods: We recruited 364 participants from the San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal Study (SOALS) aged 40-65 years who completed a three-year follow-up and were free of diabetes.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and previous natural disasters on the mental health of healthcare workers in Puerto Rico.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic worries (e.g., fear of contagion) and previous exposure to natural disasters (e.

Estimating COVID-19 cases in Puerto Rico using an automated surveillance system.

Due to concerns regarding limited testing and accuracy of estimation of COVID-19 cases, we created an automated surveillance system called "Puerto Rico Epidemiological Evaluation and Prevention of COVID-19 and Influenza" (PREPCOVI) to evaluate COVID-19 incidence and time trends across Puerto Rico. Automated text message invitations were sent to random phone numbers with Puerto Rican area codes. In addition to reported COVID-19 test results, we used a published model to classify cases from specific symptoms (loss of smell and taste, severe persistent cough, severe fatigue, and skipped meals).

Preparedness, Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and Impact on Health in Puerto Rico.

Objectives: Only few studies evaluated whether hurricane preparedness impacts health. The PREPARE study addresses this gap.

Methods: We recruited participants who had pertinent pre-hurricane data from the San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal Study (SOALS: n=364) and 125 patients with diabetes from Federally Qualified Health Center (COSSMA) in Puerto Rico.

Kidney cancer PDOXs reveal patient-specific pro-malignant effects of antiangiogenics and its molecular traits.

An open debate in antiangiogenic therapies is about their consequence on tumor invasiveness and metastasis, which is undoubtedly relevant for patients currently treated with antiangiogenics, such as renal cell carcinoma patients. To address, this we developed an extensive series of 27 patient biopsy-derived orthotopic xenograft models (Ren-PDOX) that represent inter-patient heterogeneity. In specific tumors, antiangiogenics produced increased invasiveness and metastatic dissemination, while in others aggressiveness remained unchanged.

Emergency stabilisation by single-stage posterior transpedicular approach for treatment of unstable lumbar spine fracture with neurological injury.

Management of unstable thoracolumbar fractures remains controversial. Furthermore, when these are accompanied by related neurological injury, the choice of approach, decompression technique and timing of the intervention could have a neuroprotective effect. In terms of site, the lumbar spine represents only 1.

Impact of amyloid-PET in daily clinical management of patients with cognitive impairment fulfilling appropriate use criteria.

To evaluate the use of amyloid-positron emission tomography (PET) in routine clinical practice, in a selected population with cognitive impairment that meets appropriate use criteria (AUC).A multicenter, observational, prospective case-series study of 211patients from 2 level-3 hospitals who fulfilled clinical AUC for amyloid-PET scan in a naturalistic setting. Certainty degree was evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale: 0 (very low probability); 1 (low probability); 2 (intermediate probability); 3 (high probability); and 4 (practically sure), before and after amyloid PET.

Antitumor Effects of Anti-Semaphorin 4D Antibody Unravel a Novel Proinvasive Mechanism of Vascular-Targeting Agents.

One of the main consequences of inhibition of neovessel growth and vessel pruning produced by angiogenesis inhibitors is increased intratumor hypoxia. Growing evidence indicates that tumor cells escape from this hypoxic environment to better nourished locations, presenting hypoxia as a positive stimulus for invasion. In particular, anti-VEGF/R therapies produce hypoxia-induced invasion and metastasis in a spontaneous mouse model of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer (PanNET), RIP1-Tag2.

Quantification of gold nanoparticle accumulation in tissue by two-photon luminescence microscopy.

Nanomedicine has emerged as a promising strategy to address some of the limitations of traditional biomedical sensing, imaging and therapy modalities. Its applicability and efficacy are, in part, hindered by the difficulty in both controllably delivering nanoparticles to specific regions and accurately monitoring them in tissue. Gold nanoparticles are among the most extensively used inorganic nanoparticles which benefit from high biocompatibility, flexible functionalization, strong and tunable resonant absorption, and production scalability.

Non-invasive and quantitative in vivo monitoring of gold nanoparticle concentration and tissue hemodynamics by hybrid optical spectroscopies.

Owing to their unique combination of chemical and physical properties, inorganic nanoparticles show a great deal of potential as suitable agents for early diagnostics and less invasive therapies. Yet, their translation to the clinic has been hindered, in part, by the lack of non-invasive methods to quantify their concentration in vivo while also assessing their effect on the tissue physiology. In this work, we demonstrate that diffuse optical techniques, employing near-infrared light, have the potential to address this need in the case of gold nanoparticles which support localized surface plasmons.

Usefulness of Dual-Point Amyloid PET Scans in Appropriate Use Criteria: A Multicenter Study.

Background: Biomarkers of neurodegeneration play a major role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Information on both amyloid-β accumulation, e.g.

Pre-clinical longitudinal monitoring of hemodynamic response to anti-vascular chemotherapy by hybrid diffuse optics.

The longitudinal effect of an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) antibody (DC 101) therapy on a xenografted renal cell carcinoma (RCC) mouse model was monitored using hybrid diffuse optics. Two groups of immunosuppressed male nude mice (seven treated, seven controls) were measured. Tumor microvascular blood flow, total hemoglobin concentration and blood oxygenation were investigated as potential biomarkers for the monitoring of the therapy effect twice a week and were related to the final treatment outcome.

Resistance to Antiangiogenic Therapies by Metabolic Symbiosis in Renal Cell Carcinoma PDX Models and Patients.

Antiangiogenic drugs are used clinically for treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as a standard first-line treatment. Nevertheless, these agents primarily serve to stabilize disease, and resistance eventually develops concomitant with progression. Here, we implicate metabolic symbiosis between tumor cells distal and proximal to remaining vessels as a mechanism of resistance to antiangiogenic therapies in patient-derived RCC orthoxenograft (PDX) models and in clinical samples.

Scanning, non-contact, hybrid broadband diffuse optical spectroscopy and diffuse correlation spectroscopy system.

A scanning system for small animal imaging using non-contact, hybrid broadband diffuse optical spectroscopy (ncDOS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (ncDCS) is presented. The ncDOS uses a two-dimensional spectrophotometer retrieving broadband (610-900 nm) spectral information from up to fifty-seven source-detector distances between 2 and 5 mm. The ncDCS data is simultaneously acquired from four source-detector pairs.

Discrepancies on quality perceived by the patients versus professionals on the quality of a nuclear medicine department.

Purpose: To evaluate the discrepancies between the professionals and outpatients on quality perceived of a Nuclear Medicine Department (NMD).

Material And Methods: This cross-sectional study has been carried out using two questionnaires: a validated patient experience questionnaire and a quality perception questionnaire for professionals. Both questionnaires use the same 25 categorical items to measure service quality, 2 Likert scale items to measure satisfaction and willingness to recommend the NMD and 1 open-ended question.

[Personalizing the reference level: gold standard to evaluate the quality of service perceived].

Objective: To know the cutoff point at which in-house Nuclear Medicine Department (MND) customers consider that the quality of service is good (personalized cutoff).

Material And Method: We conducted a survey of the professionals who had requested at least 5 tests to the Nuclear Medicine Department. A total of 71 doctors responded (response rate: 30%).

[Evaluation of the efficacy of sentinel node detection in breast cancer: chronological course and influence of the incorporation of an intra-operative portable gamma camera].

Aim: To define the sentinel node identification rate in breast cancer, the chronological evolution of this parameter and the influence of the introduction of a portable gamma camera.

Material And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using a prospective database of 754 patients who had undergone a sentinel lymph node biopsy between January 2003 and December 2011. The technique was mixed in the starting period and subsequently was performed with radiotracer intra-peritumorally administered the day before of the surgery.

[Assessment of the patient satisfaction with a Nuclear Medicine Service].

Goal: To know the perceived quality and the levels of patient satisfaction with the Nuclear Medicine Service (MN).

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed. The authors designed a self-applied questionnaire based on a questionnaire from a survey created by the National Health Service of the UK.

Walking assessment with instrumented insoles in patients with lower limb spasticity after botulinum toxin infiltration.

Introduction: Botulinum toxin A (BTA) improves the kinematic parameters of gait in patients with spasticity of lower limbs, but there are no studies in which kinetic parameters are measured with instrumented insoles. We therefore used instrumented insoles to perform a functional assessment of therapeutic results in patients with lower limb spasticity after brain injury or spinal cord infiltration indicating BTA.

Material And Methods: Ten patients (11 lower limbs) seen in a Neurorehabilitation Unit.

Management of suspected Alzheimer's disease patients by specialist physicians at the first visit in Spain: First Consultation Study.

Objective: To assess the management of suspected Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients at the first visit by Spanish specialist physicians.

Materials & Methods: Epidemiological, cross-sectional and multicenter study. A total of 200 specialists (neurologists, psychiatrists and geriatricians) from hospitals and specialized centers across Spain included a total of 1851 patients of both sexes older than 18 years suspected to be suffering from AD.