Publications by authors named "Martinez-Perez M"

Article Synopsis
  • Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are a major global health issue, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs) where high antibiotic use contributes to resistance.
  • This study evaluated the effects of a Selective Digestive Decontamination (SDD) protocol on antibiotic use and colonization by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterale (CPE) in an ICU over two years.
  • Results showed that implementing SDD significantly reduced overall antibiotic consumption (especially carbapenems) and colonization rates of CPE, indicating it could be an effective approach to combat antimicrobial resistance in critical care without promoting MDR bacteria.
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The controlled integration of magnetic molecules into superconducting circuits is key to developing hybrid quantum devices. Herein, we study [Dy2] molecular dimers deposited into micro-SQUID susceptometers. The results of magnetic, heat capacity and magnetic resonance experiments, backed by theoretical calculations, show that each [Dy2] dimer fulfills the main requisites to encode a two-spin quantum processor.

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Objective: Microdiscectomy is an effective and safe treatment for patients with symptomatic lumbar disc herniation (LDH) that is refractory to conservative interventions. However, some patients experience persistent low back pain (PLBP) after microdiscectomy that is secondary to progressive disc degeneration and segmental instability. This study aimed to clarify the definition of PLBP and analyze its prevalence and associated risk factors.

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Objective: Our objective was to validate a previously published simple ultrasound (US) score for Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: A total of 107 CD patients from 2 hospitals prospectively underwent both ileocolonoscopy (reference standard) and US as part of their clinical care. Endoscopic activity was assessed using the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease (SES-CD) and was also categorized as absent, mild (inflammation without ulcers), or severe (presence of ulceration).

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Background: In electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI), selecting an optimal regularization parameter (λ) is crucial for obtaining accurate inverse electrograms. The effects of signal and geometry uncertainties on the inverse problem regularization have not been thoroughly quantified, and there is no established methodology to identify when λ is sub-optimal due to these uncertainties. This study introduces a novel approach to λ selection using Tikhonov regularization and L-curve optimization, specifically addressing the impact of electrical noise in body surface potential map (BSPM) signals and geometrical inaccuracies in the cardiac mesh.

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This study investigates the effect of daily consumption of a concentrated garlic and onion extract on COVID-19 symptoms among elderly nursing home residents. Volunteers consumed a daily capsule of the concentrated powder rich in organosulfur compounds over 36 weeks during lunch. The incidence and severity of COVID-19 symptoms between the treatment and control groups were compared, along with monitoring the safety of consumption, incidence of other diseases, and medicine usage.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Pseudolipomatosis (PL) is a rare, benign condition linked to gas penetration in the colorectal mucosa, often occurring due to injury during endoscopic procedures, but its exact cause is still not fully understood.
  • - It's important for medical professionals to recognize PL to prevent unnecessary treatments, and techniques like immunohistochemistry can help distinguish it from similar conditions.
  • - A case study involving a 70-year-old man revealed duodenal pseudolipomatosis, marking a rare occurrence, as only two previous cases were reported, and no other instances were found in a review of over 500 duodenal biopsies.
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Fluoropyrimidines (FPs) are commonly prescribed in many cancer streams. The EMA and FDA-approved drug labels for FPs recommend genotyping the *2A (rs3918290), *13 (rs55886062), *HapB3 (rs56038477), alleles, and rs67376798 before treatment starts. We implemented the genotyping in our daily clinical routine, but we still found patients showing severe adverse drug events (ADEs) to FPs.

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Aims/hypothesis: As the prevalence of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance is increasing throughout the world, diabetes-induced eye diseases are a global health burden. We aim to identify distinct optical bands which are closely related to insulin and glucose metabolism, using non-invasive, high-resolution spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in a large, population-based dataset.

Methods: The LIFE-Adult-Study randomly selected 10,000 participants from the population registry of Leipzig, Germany.

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Performing nanoscale scanning electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) requires three essential ingredients: First, a static magnetic field together with field gradients to Zeeman split the electronic energy levels with spatial resolution; second, a radio frequency (rf) magnetic field capable of inducing spin transitions; finally, a sensitive detection method to quantify the energy absorbed by spins. This is usually achieved by combining externally applied magnetic fields with inductive coils or cavities, fluorescent defects, or scanning probes. Here, we theoretically propose the realization of an EPR scanning sensor merging all three characteristics into a single device: the vortex core stabilized in ferromagnetic thin-film discs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis can affect both patients who show symptoms and those who do not, highlighting the need for deeper understanding of the disease.
  • Two autopsy cases are presented where young men experienced sudden death linked to sarcoidosis; one had significant heart changes leading to heart failure, while the other had lung and heart granulomas possibly causing dangerous heart rhythms.
  • Detailed post-mortem exams, especially of cardiac conduction pathways, are crucial in determining the cause of sudden deaths related to this condition.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to identify ultrasound characteristics that indicate submucosal fat deposition (the fat halo sign, FHS) in the intestinal walls of Crohn's disease patients using CT imaging data from 68 patients over 10 years.
  • - Results showed that 31% of patients had FHS on CT, with a significant difference in submucosal thickness between those with (4.19 mm) and without FHS (2.41 mm), establishing a threshold of 3.1 mm for ultrasound detection.
  • - The findings suggest that marked thickening of the submucosal layer on ultrasound can indicate FHS in Crohn's patients, emphasizing the need for additional methods, like color Doppler, to assess
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In virus-host interactions, nucleic acid-directed first lines of defense that allow viral clearance without compromising growth are of paramount importance. Plants use the RNA interference pathway as a basal antiviral immune system, but additional RNA-based mechanisms of defense also exist. The infectivity of a plant positive-strand RNA virus, alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), relies on the demethylation of viral RNA by the recruitment of the cellular N6-methyladenosine (m A) demethylase ALKBH9B, but how demethylation of viral RNA promotes AMV infection remains unknown.

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Monkeypox was historically considered a zoonotic disease restricted to areas with an animal reservoir and with limited possibilities of human transmission. However, the recent increase in incidence in non-endemic areas, together with the demonstration of human transmission, has led to more attention being paid to this disease. We present the case of a 27-year-old man with cutaneous lesions and perianal ulcers, clinically suggestive of a viral disease.

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This study investigated the possibility of using low-cost, handheld, retinal imaging devices for the automatic extraction of quantifiable measures of retinal blood vessels. Initially, the available handheld devices were compared using a Zeiss model eye incorporating a USAF resolution test chart to assess their optical properties. The only suitable camera of the five evaluated was the Horus DEC 200.

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Nociceptors are a class of primary afferent neurons that signal potentially harmful noxious stimuli. An increase in nociceptor excitability occurs in acute and chronic pain conditions. This produces abnormal ongoing activity or reduced activation thresholds to noxious stimuli.

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A quantum spin liquid (QSL) is an elusive state of matter characterized by the absence of long-range magnetic order, even at zero temperature, and by the presence of exotic quasiparticle excitations. In spite of their relevance for quantum communication, topological quantum computation and the understanding of strongly correlated systems, like high-temperature superconductors, the unequivocal experimental identification of materials behaving as QSLs remains challenging. Here, we present a novel 2D heterometallic oxalate complex formed by high-spin Co(ii) ions alternating with diamagnetic Rh(iii) in a honeycomb lattice.

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Background: SOBERANA-02 is a COVID-19 conjugate vaccine (recombinant RBD conjugated to tetanus toxoid). Phases 1/2 clinical trials demonstrated high immunogenicity, promoting neutralising IgG and specific T-cell response. A third heterologous dose of SOBERANA-Plus (RBD-dimer) further increased neutralising antibodies.

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We have previously reported the presence of mA in the AMV (Alfamovirus, ) genome. Interestingly, two of these putative mA-sites are in hairpin (hp) structures in the 3'UTR of the viral RNA3. One site (AAACU) is in the loop of hpB, within the coat protein binding site 1 (CPB1), while the other (UGACC) is in the lower stem of hpE, a loop previously associated with AMV negative-strand RNA synthesis.

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Long terminal repeats (LTR) retrotransposons are transposable elements (TEs) representing major components of most plant genomes. The fixation of additional conserved protein domains in their genomes is considered a rare event in the course of their evolution. Such changes can bring novel functions and increase their fitness by playing a role in the regulation of their replicative cycle or by affecting their integration landscape so that the detection of new domains can in turn reveal important aspects of host-TE interactions.

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Background: SOBERANA 02 is a COVID-19 vaccine based on SARS-CoV-2 recombinant RBD conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT). SOBERANA Plus antigen is dimeric-RBD. Here we report safety and immunogenicity from phase I and IIa clinical trials using two-doses of SOBERANA 02 and three-doses (homologous) or heterologous (with SOBERANA Plus) protocols.

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