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Research Question: To what extent does the type and concentration of protein and the type of culture medium affect the sensitivity of the mouse embryo assay (MEA) to detect Triton X-100 (TX-100) in culture media?, Design: The effect of the concentration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) was assessed by supplementing media with 0.5 or 5 mg/ml. Potassium-supplemented simplex optimized medium (KSOM) and human tubal fluid (HTF) were used as complex and simple formulation media, respectively. Variables were combined, forming study groups where embryos were cultured in test media spiked with a sublethal TX-100 concentration. The conditions of greatest sensitivity were determined by statistical comparison of blastocyst formation rates and total cell counts between groups., Results: Although all of the study groups showed equal capacity for sustaining proper embryo development, the reported sensitivity of the MEA differed between groups when subjected to TX-100. HTF conferred significantly greater sensitivity than KSOM regardless of the type and concentration of protein used, and medium supplementation with 5 mg/ml BSA rather than 0.5 mg/ml BSA resulted in significantly higher sensitivity regardless of the type of medium used. This increase in concentration also resulted in higher sensitivity when supplementing HTF with HSA. The BSA groups provided more sensitivity than their HSA counterparts, except for the KSOM + 0.5 mg/ml BSA group. Cell count analysis did not provide further significant conclusions., Conclusions: For TX-100 detection within culture medium, the type and concentration of protein and the type of culture medium have a direct effect on MEA sensitivity. These results could help to standardize the MEA protocol, and increase its ability to detect sublethal concentrations of embryotoxic substances, especially TX-100, thus avoiding possible clinical harmful effects., (Copyright © 2024 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To analyze the characteristics of adult patients admitted for asthma exacerbation and determine optimization, treatment adherence, and follow-up in clinics., Methods: Patients ≥ 18 years old admitted from May 2021 to June 2023 with a primary diagnosis of asthma exacerbation were included. Patients with a secondary diagnosis of asthma exacerbation and those without a confirmed diagnosis were excluded., Results: A total of 186 patients were analyzed, 63% were female, with a mean age of 49 ± 34 years, mean body mass index (BMI) of 26.4 ± 5 kg/m2, mean immunoglobulin E level of 132 ± 235 IU/mL (range: 25-2041), mean eosinophils count of 180 ± 443, and length of stay of 8.6 ± 5 days. Comparing patients with one admission to those with multiple admissions, differences were observed in age (39 ± 15 vs. 58 ± 20, p < 0.0001), BMI (25.2 ± 3 vs. 27.4 ± 4, p < 0.0003), comorbidity (15% vs. 60%, p < 0.0001), and length of stay (4.5 ± 2 vs. 11 ± 3, p < 0.0001). Of the patients, 15% had undiagnosed asthma, 28% had known asthma without maintenance therapy, 23% were managed by primary care, and 34% were followed by pneumology. The mean Test of Adherence to Inhalers (TAI) score was 42.5 ± 8 points, with 70% showing erratic non-adherence, 46% showing deliberate non-adherence, and 21% showing unconscious non-adherence., Conclusions: The young population represents a significant percentage of admissions for asthma exacerbation due to poor follow-up in pulmonology clinics, inadequate treatment optimization, and low adherence. This study adds that it is necessary to improve the approach to asthma in primary care to optimize treatment, reduce under-diagnosis, and avoid hospital admissions., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Ethics and Research Committee of University Hospital San Juan de Alicante issued approval CODE: 23/065. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Chiner et al.)

Mutational analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can quantify the relative importance of variants over time, enable dominant mutations to be identified, and facilitate near real-time detection, comparison and tracking of evolving variants. SARS-CoV-2 in Asturias, an autonomous community of Spain with a large ageing population, and high levels of migration and tourism, was monitored and tracked from the beginning of the pandemic in February 2020 until its decline and stabilization in August 2021, and samples were characterized using whole genomic sequencing and single nucleotide polymorphisms. Data held in the GISAID database were analysed to establish patterns in the appearance and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 strains. Only 138 non-synonymous mutations occurring in more than 1 % of the population with SARS-CoV-2 were found, identifying ten major variants worldwide (seven arose before January 2021), 19 regional and one local. In Asturias only 17 different variants were found. After vaccination, no further regional major variants were found. Only half of the defined variants circulated and no new variants were generated, indicating that infection control measures such as rapid diagnosis, isolation and vaccination were efficient., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Research Question: Can an automated sperm injection robot perform Automated Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSIA) for use in human IVF?, Design: The ICSIA robot automated the sperm injection procedure, including injection pipette advancement, zona pellucida and oolemma penetration with piezo pulses, and pipette removal after sperm release. The robot was first tested in mouse, hamster and rabbit oocytes, and subsequently using discarded human oocytes injected with microbeads. A small clinical pilot trial was conducted with donor oocytes to study the feasibility of the robot in a clinical setting. The ICSIA robot was controlled by engineers with no micromanipulation experience. Results were compared with those obtained with manual ICSI conducted by experienced embryologists., Results: The ICSIA robot demonstrated similar results to the manual procedure in the different animal models tested as well as in the pre-clinical validations conducted in discarded human oocytes. In the clinical validation, 13 out of 14 oocytes injected with ICSIA fertilized correctly versus 16 out of 18 in the manual control; eight developed into good-quality blastocysts versus 12 in the manual control; and four were diagnosed as chromosomally normal versus 10 euploid in the manual control. Three euploid blastocysts from the ICSIA robot group have been transferred into two recipients, which resulted in two singleton pregnancies and two babies born., Conclusions: The ICSIA robot showed high proficiency in injecting animal and human oocytes when operated by inexperienced personnel. The preliminary results obtained in this first clinical pilot trial are within key performance indicators., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: To compare the clinical and polysomnographic features of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy (Group A) and comorbidities (Group B)., Methods: A five-year prospective study using nocturnal polysomnography before and after treatment., Results: We included 168 patients: 121 in Group A and 47 in Group B, with differences in age (6.5 ± 3 vs. 8.6 ± 4 years; p < 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (18 ± 4 vs. 20 ± 7 kg/m2; p < 0.05), neck circumference (28 ± 4 vs. 30 ± 5 cm; p < 0.05), and obesity (17% vs. 30%; p < 0.05). Group B patients were more likely to have facial anomalies ( p < 0.001), macroglossia ( p < 0.01), dolichocephaly ( p < 0.01), micrognathia ( p < 0.001), and prognathism ( p < 0.05). Adenotonsillectomy was performed in 103 Group A patients (85%) and 28 Group B patients (60%) ( p < 0.001). In B, 13 children (28%) received treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and 2 (4%) with bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP), compared with 7 in Group A (6%) ( p < 0.001). Maxillofacial surgery was more common in Group B ( p < 0.01). Clinical and polysomnography parameters improved significantly in both groups after therapeutic intervention, though Group A showed better results., Conclusions: Obesity and facial anomalies are more frequent in childhood OSA patients with comorbidities, who often require combination therapy, such as ventilation and surgery.

Among the methods used to diagnose COVID-19, those based on genomic detection by q(RT)-PCR are the most sensitive. To perform these assays, a previous genome extraction of the sample is required. The dramatic increase in the number of SARS-CoV-2 detection assays has increased the demand for extraction reagents hindering the supply of commercial reagents. Homemade reagents and procedures could be an alternative. Nasopharyngeal samples were extracted by seven different methods as well as the automatic method MagNaPure96, to detect SARS-CoV-2. All protocols show sensitivity higher than 87 %, in comparison with reference method, for detecting SARS-CoV-2 as well as human β- globin. Our results support that these procedures, using common and cheap reagents, are effective to extract RNA (from SARS-CoV-2) or DNA (from human β-globin) genome from nasopharyngeal swabs. Furthermore, these procedures could be easily adopted by routine diagnostic laboratories to implement detection methods to help to fight against COVID-19 pandemic., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Study Question: Are there significant differences between the available commercial oil brands used for human IVF?, Summary Answer: Important differences have been detected among the tested oil brands in their potential to stabilize culture conditions and, more importantly, in their direct effect on embryo development and viability., What Is Known Already: Mineral oil is a critical component of the human culture system due to its protective and stabilizing roles during in vitro embryo development. Many different oils are available on the market, with differences in their viscosity, density and overall quality., Study Design, Size, Duration: Thirteen different commercial oil brands were compared., Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Each oil was firstly analyzed to assess its viscosity, density, peroxide value and potential oxidation. Secondly, the capacity of each oil to reduce pH, osmolality and temperature fluctuations during embryo culture and manipulation was compared. Lastly, a sensitive mouse embryo assay (MEA) protocol, previously optimized to detect toxicity in oils samples, was used to compare the overall quality of the different brands in terms of embryo developmental rates up to the blastocyst stage. At the end of the MEAs, a triple labeling protocol was applied to analyze Oct4+ cells, apoptotic cells and total cell counts in the blastocysts obtained by fluorescence microscopy., Main Results and the Role of Chance: Significant divergences were detected in the rise of osmolality and the equilibration and stability of pH between different oils, which could be correlated to their physico-chemical characteristics. In particular, oil samples with a higher viscosity tended to offer an additional protection against fluctuations in the culture conditions, however, the differences in temperature stability between oils were minor. Two out of the 13 oil samples, which were commercially available, were identified as embryo-toxic by applying the MEA protocol with increased sensitivity for toxicity detection. Additionally, substantial differences in the total number of cells and the number of cells in the inner cell mass of the obtained blastocysts were also detected between oil groups., Limitations, Reasons for Caution: A single lot of oil was used for each brand and, thus, lot-to-lot variations in oil quality could not be determined. However, several bottles from the same oil were included to account for potential intra-lot variability., Wider Implications of the Findings: Commercial oils differ in both their physical characteristics and their performance in maintaining the stability of the culture conditions during in vitro embryo culture. Oil selection is important for embryo culture success. Additionally, the detection of embryo-toxic oils which had already been released to the human IVF market showcases the importance of applying sensitive MEA protocols for a better detection of toxicity in this type of samples., Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This study was privately funded., Trial Registration Number: N/A., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

This paper uses European high capitalization corporate data for the 1991-2019 period to demonstrate that a systematic active management portfolio based on the identification of value, profitability, and momentum factors can outperform competing benchmark strategies. Factor investment methodologies received significant attention in the literature in the U.S. market but their application to European corporates is more limited. The authors construct several systematic investment strategies combining different metrics measuring the three factors. Reported results show that a) combined (mixed/conditional) strategies deliver positive alphas and significantly outperform their pure strategy counterparts and b) while there exists a time changing performance of selected metrics the iterative combination of factors delivers the highest performance with average annualized compounded returns of up to about 17%. Three Key Takeaways:  1. This paper documents the existence of alpha-generating factor strategies based on a combination of value, profitability, and momentum metrics. Combined (mixed/conditional) portfolios significantly outperform their pure strategy counterparts.  2. The iterative combination of factors delivers the highest performance with annualized compounded returns of up to 17%.  3. In line with the recent literature, we find decaying returns to factor strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

We aimed to (1) evaluate the incidence of tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) over 25 years in our centre; (2) measure the yield of different diagnostic techniques; (3) compare TPE features between immigrant and native patients. Retrospective study of patients who underwent diagnostic thoracentesis and pleural biopsy in our hospital between 1995 and 2020. TPE was diagnosed in 71 patients (65% natives, 35% immigrants). Onset was acute in 35%, subacute in 26% and prolonged in 39%. Radiological features were atypical in 42%. Thoracentesis specimens were lymphocyte-predominant in 84.5% of patients, with elevated adenosine deaminase in 75% of patients. Diagnostic yield of pleural biopsy was 78%. Compared with native patients, more immigrants had previous contact with TB (54% vs. 17%, p = 0.001), prior TB (21% vs. 4%, p < 0.02) and atypical radiological features (58% vs. 34%, p < 0.03). TPE incidence was six times higher in the immigrant population (6.7 vs. 1.1 per 100,000 person-years, p < 0.001). TPE has an acute onset and sometimes atypical radiological features. Pleural biopsy has the highest diagnostic yield. Reactivation, prior contact with TB, atypical radiological features, complications, and positive microbiology results are more common in immigrant patients.

The N501Y mutation in SARS-CoV-2 variants found in several strains from the UK, South Africa and Brazil has been linked to increased transmission. In order to discriminate N501Y variants quickly, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discrimination assay was designed and validated. It was then deployed prospectively in 757 nasopharyngeal swabs. Validation of the novel variant discrimination assay corroborated the results in all validation panel samples (n = 63) through sequencing. This novel variant discrimination assay was then deployed prospectively in 757 clinical nasopharyngeal swabs during the last week of January 2021. N501Y was found in 206 (27.4 %) of the samples: 94 (28.2 %) men and 112 (26.85 %) women (p = 0.73). The patients in whom it was identified had a mean age of 47.8 ± 25.8 (0-96) years, similar to that of patients without this variant: 51.7 ± 25.9 (0-104) years (p = 0.06). 501Y variant was confirmed in 34 samples by sequence method and 501 N wild type was confirmed in 67. This method is sensitive, specific, and simple to apply in any microbiology lab., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been associated with thrombotic phenomena in the early stages of the disease, but also, less frequently, with major bleeding between the second and third week after onset, particularly in patients treated with therapeutic anticoagulation. This article describes four cases of patients admitted to the hospital with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia who had arterial bleeding as a complication while on low-molecular-weight heparin at therapeutic doses. Half of the patients were women., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2021, Boira et al.)

Objective: To evaluate the clinical impact of Meningitis/Encephalitis FilmArray® panel for the diagnosis of cerebral nervous system infection and to compare the results (including time for diagnosis) with those obtained by conventional microbiological techniques., Methods: A prospective observational study in an Intensive Care Unit of adults from a tertiary hospital was carried out. Cerebrospinal fluid from all patients was taken by lumbar puncture and assessed by the meningitis/encephalitis FilmArray® panel ME, cytochemical study, Gram, and conventional microbiological cultures., Results: A total of 21 patients admitted with suspicion of Meningitis/Encephalitis. Median age of patients was 58.4 years (RIQ 38.1-67.3), median APACHE II 18 (RIQ 12-24). Median stay in ICU and median hospital stay was 4 (RIQ 2-6) and 17 days (RIQ 14-28), respectively. The overall mortality was 14.3%. A final clinical diagnosis of meningitis or encephalitis was established in 16 patients, obtaining the etiological diagnosis in 12 of them (75%). The most frequent etiology was Streptococcus pneumoniae (8 cases). FilmArray® allowed etiological diagnosis in 3 cases in which the culture had been negative, and the results led to changes in the empirical antimicrobial therapy in 7 of 16 cases (43.8%). FilmArray® yielded a global sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 90%, respectively. The median time to obtain results from the latter and conventional culture (including antibiogram) was 2.9 hours (RIQ 2.1-3.8) and 45.1 hours (RIQ 38.9-58.7), respectively., Conclusions: The Meningitis/Encephalitis FilmArray® panel was able to establish the etiologic diagnosis faster than conventional methods. Also, it achieved a better sensitivity and led to prompt targeted antimicrobial therapy., (©The Author 2019. Published by Sociedad Española de Quimioterapia. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).)

A recently proposed 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (DCF)-derived fluorescent probe for the detection of ozone shows good selectivity against a number of reactive oxygen species and good pH stability for biological and environmental applications. It is found, however, that over oxidation of the fluorescent product (Pittsburgh green) can occur. This could render quantitative measurements inaccurate due to a reduction in fluorescence and overlapping fluorescence signals from over oxidation by-products and it requires careful experimental design. Although difficult to assess by fluorescence measurements, the over oxidation can be conveniently monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy.

Unlabelled: Dentists are currently required to make multiple diagnoses and treatment decisions every day and the information necessary to achieve this satisfactorily doubles in volume every five years. Knowledge therefore rapidly becomes out of date, so that it is often impossible to remember established information and assimilate new concepts. This may result in a significant lack of knowledge in the future, which would jeopardize the success of treatments. To remedy this situation and to prevent it, we nowadays have access to modern computing systems, with an extensive data base, which helps us to retain the information necessary for daily practice and access it instantaneously., Objectives: The objectives of this study are therefore to determine how widespread the use of computing is in this environment and to determine the opinion of students and qualified dentists as regards its use in Dentistry., Study Design: 90 people were chosen to take part in the study, divided into the following groups (students) (newly qualified dentists) (experts)., Results: It has been demonstrated that a high percentage (93.30%) use a computer, but that their level of computing knowledge is predominantly moderate. The place where a computer is used most is the home, which suggests that the majority own a computer., Conclusions: Analysis of the results obtained for evaluation of computers in teaching showed that the participants thought that it saved a great deal of time and had great potential for providing an image (in terms of marketing) and they considered it a very innovative and stimulating tool.

Objectives: This article describes the development of a computer application, Asiodint 1.0, whose objective is principally to help students and also newly qualified graduates in the decision-making process in a variety of clinical situations. The tree starts with an initial identification, naming the problem to be solved. It then follows a path via various stages (nodes), according to the responses to the variables which are important in this decision-making process, configuring a final outcome., Study Design: A population of 90 individuals was chosen, divided without any specific criteria into three groups: A) students, B) qualified dentists with at least 2 years' and at most 5 years' professional experience, C) qualified dentists with more than 10 years' professional experience. Two clinical cases were designed for the themes used in the program (evaluation of an abutment tooth and treatment of an extracted tooth). The participants answered questions on the two cases first based on their knowledge and then with the help of the program, and were able to check the degree of agreement between their opinion and that offered by the program. Finally each individual had to fill in a questionnaire on their opinion of the program, additionally describing the advantages and drawbacks they found in the application and whether discrepancies were due to a fault in the program's data base, an error by the individual or other reasons., Results: 100% of the participants stated that they would like to have this tool as an aid and 96.7% thought that it could be used to improve teaching., Conclusions: This program may be used repeatedly and at any time by students and teachers who so wish. This offers the advantage that it can be reviewed to reinforce information learnt by the students. The teaching staff can, however, if they so desire, design any theme they wish, increasing the efficiency and support capabilities of the program. Development of a computer application to help in the decision-making process in teaching dentistry. Program innovation.

Background: The poor development of systems of occupational surveillance in Spain is an important obstacle for implementing effective occupational health programmes. The objective of this study is to evaluate the utility and feasibility of an occupational health surveillance system in a Health Area, using the available public sanitary resources, between 1991 and 1993., Methods: The surveillance system is based on the identification of Sentinel Health Events (Rutstein and cols.) from registers or by notification, obtaining additional information through the procedure of interview. Distribution of cases by condition, level of response to the interviews, and distribution of cases according to its source of information are analysed. The evaluation is made on the following criteria: required elements, utility, representativeness, choice between sensibility and specificity, and limitations., Results: 314 sentinel health events were identified, from which, in 33 cases, occupational exposure to causal agents was confirmed. The occupational diseases notified from compensation systems were 31. 3 cases of interstitial pneumonia were identified, that allowed the detection of an outbreak in textile workers., Conclusions: The implementation of systems of occupational surveillance, in the actual spanish sanitary context, should take into account the following aspects: organizational flexibility, efficiency, and orientation towards intervention.