Search

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), such as SYNGAP1 -related DEE, are marked by severe developmental delays and pharmaco-resistant seizures due to specific genetic variants. This case report focuses on a 9-year-old male with a de novo SYNGAP1 variant (c.1267del, p.Tyr423Metfs*17), illustrating the diagnostic and treatment challenges. Initially experiencing developmental delays and later, misdiagnosed tics, he was diagnosed with epilepsy with eyelid myoclonia at seven. His case includes key SYNGAP1 encephalopathy symptoms: intellectual disability, behavioral issues, and generalized epilepsy resistant to antiseizure medication. The identification of a specific variant adds to our knowledge, suggesting the necessity of considering SYNGAP1 -related DEE for unexplained neurodevelopmental delays and seizures. This case underlines the need for a personalized treatment approach focusing on quality of life and symptom management, advancing our understanding and treatment practices for genetic developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.

The aim of this scoping review is to evaluate the impact of smartphone application (SPA) technology in patients undergoing elective colonoscopy to measure compliance with appointments, cost-effectiveness, bowel preparation, and quality of life. The scoping review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Ovid Medline, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and PubMed were screened up to Oct 14, 2020, and bibliographies of the retrieved articles were included. Based on pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria, 8 primary studies were included in the final analysis from a total of 3,979 non-duplicate articles. Seven out of eight studies measured the bowel preparation quality. In six of these studies, patients in the smartphone group had a successful bowel preparation when compared with the control arm; on the other hand, one study did not find any differences between groups. Adherence to colonoscopy screening was assessed by one study. Patients in the digital intervention arm were significantly more likely to complete a screening test. Patient satisfaction during the periprocedural period of colonoscopy was assessed by five studies which reported significantly higher patient satisfaction in the intervention arm compared to the control arm. None of the studies measured cost-effectiveness. We came to the conclusion that a well-designed, user-friendly SPA can help and guide patients undergoing colonoscopy through the process of following up on their appointments, adhering to bowel preparation, and better understanding their disease condition. Future trials investigating SPAs should include cost-effectiveness and adherence to appointments as an endpoint.

The Pickering emulsion polymerization of styrene (St), divinylbenzene (DVB) as a crosslinking agent, and sodium 4-vinyl benzene sulfonate (VBS) used for in situ surface-modification of silica nanoparticles (SNps) was investigated. At 1.0 wt% DVB, amphiphilic SNps with hydrophobic patches were formed, further self-assembling into copolymer-SNps clusters occurred. Subsequently, these clusters grow by monomer swelling to finally lead to the formation of core-shell polymer microspheres. Unlike the hydrophilic patchy SNps, at 2.0 and 3.0 wt% DVB, surface-patterned SNps with higher effective hydrophobicity do not self-assemble in the water phase but rather lead to the formation of monoliths. The polymerization mechanisms related to the formation of polymer silica-coated microspheres hybrid-materials, or percolated monoliths with bi-continuous porosity, formed by interfacially jammed emulsion gel (bijels) templates, are discussed herein.

Background: Current diagnostic methods for enamel caries detection are unable to detect caries lesions (incipient caries lesion) at a very early stage. Objective: This study aims to determine the remineralizing effect of three fluorinated compounds on demineralized subsurface tooth enamel using Raman spectroscopy characterization. Methods: In this experimental study, sixty impacted 3rd molars, with intact anatomical crowns recently extracted and without structural defects, were sectioned longitudinally in a mesio-distal direction using a diamond disc, obtaining two working surfaces (buccal and lingual). The 120 working surfaces obtained were immersed for 96 h in a demineralization solution at 37°C in order to demineralize the enamel surface. All samples were randomly divided into three groups (n=30 each) and their surfaces were treated with silver diamine fluoride (SDF), Difluoride silane (DSF), and acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF), and with no treatment undertaken in the control group (CG). The samples were immersed in alternating solutions for demineralization and remineralization at pH 4.4 and pH 7.0, respectively. The results were analyzed with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in order to determine the variance. Results: The most important difference (91.7%) is observed in APF group between PCA1 respect to PCA2, followed by DSF (91.5%) and SDF (76.3%) respectively. Therefore, a greater remineralization in the dental enamel can be observed by the three experimental groups. Conclusion: The APF and DSF have the effect of recovering the mineralization of dental enamel, except for the SDF. Functional groups OH- and PO43- were identified in all subsurface.

Background: Ocular trauma is one of the leading causes of decreased visual acuity and monocular blindness in the pediatric population. Since its occurrence is potentially preventable, it is essential to understand its demographic characteristics and risk factors to alert and implement prevention and health promotion programs. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in which we reviewed 187 clinical records of patients ≤ 15 years old with the diagnosis of severe ocular trauma admitted in 2017 to the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. We analyzed demographic variables, circumstances of the event, type of treatment, and the evolution of visual acuity and complications. Results: In total, 187 patients and 188 eyes were included; the average age was 6.99 ± 4.1 years. Children of 2 to 5 years of age (41%) were the most affected, and a higher occurrence was observed in males (73%). Open ocular trauma was the most common type of injury (72.7%) caused by sharp objects (45.4%). Most injuries occurred at home (78.1%), without adult supervision (48.1%), and during leisure time (74.9%). Most events were accidental (80.4%), although 12.3% were direct aggression. Surgery was required in 179 patients, in whom corneal injury repair (43.2%) was the most commonly used procedure. Final visual acuity was quantified in 132 eyes, and visual acuity < 20/200 was found in 18.1%. Loss of 4.2% of the eyeballs was recorded. Conclusions: The highest proportion of cases was identified in male patients ≤5 years old, unsupervised by an adult. Many eye injuries are preventable, so it is necessary to implement socio-educational programs in alliance with pediatric organizations that alert the severity of the problem and promote safe environments.

LLas enfermedades infecciosas son un problema de salud que a pesar de los avances médicos siguen cobrando vidas en todo el mundo; como las septicemias. La presente investigación tuvo por objetivo diseñar, estandarizar e implementar un protocolo inexistente en Guatemala, para el diagnóstico rutinario de hemocultivos positivos dentro de las instalaciones del Laboratorio Clínico del Hospital General San Juan de Dios, lugar en donde se encuentra el único espectrómetro de masas de tipo Maldi-tof (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of flight-mass spectrometry). Se utilizaron 240 muestras de pacientes de los diferentes servicios. El diagnóstico se realizó comparando las identificaciones obtenidas a partir de cultivos microbiológicos puros con muestras directas de botellas con caldo BHI (Brain Heart Infusion). Los resultados de las dos metodologías fueron evaluados con el diseño estadístico “apareado o emparejado en grupo”. La comparación no evidenció discordancia en las identificaciones; pero sí en los tiempos de respuesta. La reducción de tiempo fue de 42.9 h para bacterias Gram positivo, 45.0 h para bacterias Gram negativo y 126.2 h para levaduras, todos a favor de identificaciones a partir de muestras directas. Con esta investigación se pretende ofrecer una nueva alternativa que permitirá brindar un diagnóstico rápido, confiable y certero a la población guatemalteca. También permitirá reducir la morbimortalidad de los pacientes con septicemias, promover el ahorro de insumos hospitalarios, disminuir el tiempo de estancia hospitalaria, ahorrar el consumo de antibióticos innecesarios y contribuir indirectamente a combatir la resistencia antimicrobiana; un problema actual de gran importancia a nivel mundial.

Background: Congenital kidney and urinary tract anomalies are the most common cause of chronic kidney disease in the first three decades of life. Stenosis of the ureteropelvic junction may cause dilation of the collecting system in the fetal kidney. This study aimed to determine hydronephrosis due to congenital ureteropelvic stenosis treatment outcome according to the age of the intervention. Methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study that included pediatric patients with hydronephrosis secondary to ureteropelvic junction stenosis operated by the Anderson-Hynes open pyeloplasty method from 2010 to 2016. Patients were divided into two groups: group A, children < 1 year of age, and group B, children > 1 year of age. We analyzed ultrasonographic parameters, renal function, and clinical data. Inferential statistics were used with the Mann-Whitney U-test and X2 test. Intra-group data were assessed with the Wilcoxon test. Results: We included 52 patients: group A (n = 16, 30%) and group B (n = 36, 70%). The male sex predominated, and mainly the left renal unit. The most important surgical finding was stenotic segment. The median right glomerular filtration rate was 24.1 mL/min (19.0-34.5) pre-surgical and 38.2 mL/min (35.9-41.09) post-surgical in group A (p = 0.028), and 28.4 mL/min (18.5-35.0) pre-surgical and 37 mL/ min (35.7-46.0) post-surgical in group B (p = 0.003). The median left glomerular filtration rate was 30 mL/min (21.4-39.0) pre-surgical and 40.0 mL/min (37.7-44.6) post-surgical in group A (p = 0.005) and 18.4 mL/min (14.2-29.2) pre-surgical and 37 mL/min (33.1-38.5) post-surgical in group B (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Correction of ureteropelvic stenosis before one year of age results in better renal function than a later correction.

Raw cane sugars have been claimed to be rich in natural phenolic compounds which, in contrast to refined sugar, may increase the nutritional value of foods and contribute to the development of healthier foods and diets. The use of non-refined cane sugars in food formulation seems an interesting option since they provide natural antioxidants with sucrose still being the major sugar present, minimizing the loss of technological properties. However, substitution of refined sugar could imply an undesired impact on physicochemical and sensory properties, conditioning consumer's acceptance. Functional jams (strawberry and kiwifruit) with a larger fruit to sugar ratio than conventional ones, in which white sugar was replaced by granulated jaggery (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 y 75 % w/w) were obtained. Impact of sugar replacement was assessed by evaluating physicochemical properties (moisture, water activity, pH, total soluble sugars, sugar profile (glucose, fructose, sucrose), and optical, rheological, mechanical and antioxidant properties). Sensory properties and microbiological stability were also determined. Jaggery improved the antioxidant properties of jams (total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, antiradical activity by the DPPH and ABTS methods), proportionally to the amount of cane sugar incorporated and more significantly in the case of kiwifruit. Other physicochemical properties were not significantly affected by jaggery, except for color. However, these differences were not crucial in the acceptability tests, since acceptance of jams containing jaggery was generally good, very good when intermediate replacement percentages were used. Conclusions of the present work suggest that granulated jaggery can be used to formulate sugar-rich food products such as jams in order to increase their nutritional value, with little impact on physicochemical properties and good consumer acceptance.

Objective To determine the prevalence of varying classes of obesity in patients undergoing tracheostomy and the associated complication rates as compared with nonobese patients. Study Design A retrospective chart review was performed from 2012 to 2018 on all patients who underwent open tracheostomy by the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Setting All tracheostomies were performed at a single tertiary care center. Methods Patients were classified by body mass index (BMI) according to the World Health Organization classification system: underweight (40). Charts were reviewed for patient demographic information, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, surgical indication, operative time, tracheostomy tube type, and postoperative complications. Results A total of 387 patients (mean ± SD BMI, 31.3 ± 14.2) were identified per the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Of patients with BMI >30 (n=153), 34.6% were categorized as obesity class I, 29.4% as class II, and 35.9% as class III. The most common indication for tracheostomy was malignancy in nonobese patients (41.5%) and respiratory failure for obese patients (58.2%). Operative time was significantly longer in obese patients, and most of these patients required an extended-length tracheostomy tube. Patients with a BMI >40 had higher rates of multiple postoperative complications or death ( P = .009). Underweight patients also had a higher rate of complication than normal-overweight patients ( P = .016). Conclusion Class III and underweight patients had higher rates of postoperative complications, which should be taken into consideration during perioperative counseling.

Six sediment samples weighing between 224–735 g were collected in June of 2016 from Cayo Nuevo reef, located at the Campeche Bank, southern Gulf of Mexico. Samples were collected by SCUBA diving, from were two stations at depths of 7.6 and 18.2 m. Sediment was sieved and molluscs (adults and micromolluscs ≤ 10 mm) were sorted, examined, and identified to the lowest taxonomic level. A total of 1,347 specimens was found, of which 224 shells were dead and 1,123 were alive. Thirty-four families, 53 genera, and 67 species were identified. The most abundant families were Chamidae and Arcidae for the Bivalvia class, and Caecidae and Tornidae for the Gastropoda class. The vertical range of Bentharca sp. was extended.

Consistent with their reported abundance in soils, several Burkholderia sensu lato strains were isolated from the rhizosphere of maize plants cultivated at different sites in central México. Comparative analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences permitted their separation into three distinctive clades, which were further subdivided into six other clusters by their close resemblance to (1) Trinickia dinghuensis; (2) Paraburkholderia kirstenboschensis, P. graminis, P. dilworthii and P. rhynchosiae; (3) B. gladioli; (4) B. arboris; (5) B. contaminans, or (6) B. metallica representative species. Direct confrontation assays revealed that these strains inhibited the growth of pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, and F. verticillioides within a roughly 3–55% inhibition range. The use of a DIESI-based non-targeted mass spectroscopy experimental strategy further indicated that this method is an option for rapid determination of the pathogen inhibitory capacity of Burkholderia sensu lato strains based solely on the analysis of their exometabolome. Furthermore, it showed that the highest anti-fungal activity observed in B. contaminans and B. arboris was associated with a distinctive abundance of certain m/z ions, some of which were identified as components of the ornbactin and pyochelin siderophores. These results highlight the chemical diversity of Burkholderia sensu lato bacteria and suggest that their capacity to inhibit the Fusarium-related infection of maize in suppressive soils is associated with siderophore synthesis.

Este trabajo es una descripción de las actividades de investigación y docencia realizadas en los laboratorios multidisciplinarios de la Universidad Veracruzana (UV) relacionadas con catálisis y nanomateriales diseñados para este propósito entre otros. En primera instancia se presenta una reseña de la UV desde su creación, así como la misión y visión de esta Institución. Se describen las líneas de investigación, desarrollo y docencia relacionadas con las nanociencias, el trabajo de académicos involucrados con dicho laboratorio en sus diferentes campos de trabajo. Además, se reportan las colaboraciones y proyectos que se llevan a cabo, la infraestructura y los equipos disponibles, así como las actividades de docencia y formación de recursos humanos que se realizan en colaboración con varios cuerpos académicos. Finalmente, se describen los principales logros que se han alcanzado, las áreas de oportunidad y perspectivas de crecimiento que éstos vislumbran a corto y mediano plazo.

We have synthesized, in this work, zero valent iron (ZVI) nanoparticles to improve the efficiency of degradation of phenolphthalein catalyzed by ozone in aqueous solution. The Fe nanoparticles were obtained using the pulsed plasma in liquid (PPL) method with water as the liquid medium. Such nanoparticles have a mean size of 12 nm and are composed of ~80% Fe0, while the rest are a mixture of Fe+2 and Fe+3 oxides. The degradation of phenolphthalein was carried on a glass reactor injecting a constant amount of ozone and introducing different concentrations of Fe nanoparticles to the system. When using pure ozone, the percentage of degradation of phenolphthalein measured by colorimetry after one hour of reaction was 84%. However, when Fe nanoparticles are used, such percentage can be as high as 98% in 50 minutes of reaction. Furthermore, the degradation rate constant was 0.0334 min−1 with only ozone and it can be as high as 0.0733 min−1 with Fe nanoparticles. Finally, the total mineralization of phenolphthalein was obtained by total organic carbon (TOC) determinations. It is shown that when using only ozone, we obtained a percentage of mineralization of 49% and 96% when using the highest concentration of Fe nanoparticles.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) which are synthesized mainly in the liver have relevant functions in the organism. A diet high in fat (HFD) generates an increase in the levels of fat and induces oxidative stress (lipo-peroxidation) in the liver, along with a reduction in tissue n-3 and n-6 LCPUFA. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is rich in anti-oxidants (polyphenols and tocopherols) which help to prevent the development of oxidative stress. This study evaluated the role of EVOO in preventing the induction of fat deposition and oxidative stress in the liver and in the depletion of LCPUFA in the liver, erythrocytes and brain generated by a HFD in C57BL/6J mice. Four experimental groups (n = 10/group) were fed a control diet (CD) or a HFD for 12 weeks and were respectively supplemented with EVOO (100 mg/day). The group fed HFD showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in fat accumulation and oxidative stress in the liver, accompanied by a reduction in the levels of n-3 and n-6 LCPUFA in the liver, erythrocytes and brain. Supplementation with EVOO mitigated the increase in fat and oxidative stress produced by HFD in the liver, along with a normalization of LCPUFA levels in the liver, erythrocytes and brain. It is proposed that EVOO supplementation protects against fat accumulation, and oxidative stress and normalizes n-3 and n-6 LCPUFA depletion induced in mice fed a HFD.

Actualmente el embarazo en adolescentes es considerado un problema de salud pública que puede estar relacionado con características sociodemográficas y tipos de estructura familiar. En este artículo se presentan los resultados de una investigación que tuvo por objetivo evaluar la asociación entre características sociodemográficas, tipos de estructura familiar y embarazo en adolescentes, con el fin de proponer estrategias de intervención temprana; en esta se utilizó un estudio descriptivo retrospectivo, utilizando datos administrativos e información de registros médicos sobre adolescentes embarazadas, atendidas en una clínica de III nivel durante el periodo enero/diciembre-2014, y se analizó la frecuencia de características sociodemográficas y de tipos de estructura familiar para identificar relaciones entre estos dos aspectos. También se expone la necesidad de implementar planes multipropósito al momento de diseñar estrategias de prevención para este evento, con base en la interpretación de los resultados y las conclusiones de la investigación.

ALA is the precursor of EPA and DHA and its dietary availability is limited. Vegetable oils rich in ALA (48–64%) are alternatives for increasing its consumption. The conversion of ALA into EPA and DHA and the ratio (EPA+DHA/ALA) was evaluated in different tissues from male Wistar rats fed ALA –rich oils. Four groups (n=12/group) were fed for 21 days with oils from: a) corn (CO, 3% ALA); b) soybean (SO, 6% ALA); c) sacha inchi (SIO, 48% ALA) and; d) chia (ChO, 64% ALA). SO, SIO and ChO significantly increased ALA levels (p