Search

The use of new information and communication technologies has been reshaping the export paradigm for more than a decade and exponentially increasing the possibilities of the exporting companies in international markets. The Internet improves establishing contact with partners in other countries for trade, optimizes daily communication with them, and makes companies more efficient in finding information on the markets they are reaching. According to these implications, to what extent do new technologies have a positive impact on the success of companies abroad? Does the use of these technologies facilitate cooperation between exporters and trading partners in the export destination country? The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of Internet technology upon export success when companies use this technology to find relevant information on foreign markets, improve communication in the business process, and enhance contacts with customers and distributors in distant countries. This study reveals that cooperative relationships between export companies and their foreign customers/distributors have a mediating effect between ICT and export success. Moreover, a surprisingly low significance of using ICT to support sales activities and develop lasting business relationships on export success has been found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare a rapid dilution method for the determination of antiviral susceptibility of herpes simplex virus (HSV) with the plaque reduction assay. A total of 84 HSV clinical isolates were studied by both methods to detect in-vitro resistance to acyclovir and foscarnet. The rapid method showed for the detection of HSV isolates resistant to acyclovir and foscarnet, a sensitivity of 96. 8% and 100% and specificity of 100% and 100%, respectively. This method provides an easy and accurate screening procedure for the susceptibility testing of HSV to antiviral agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: the prevalence of hospital malnutrition is high and involves an increase in health care costs. Home hospitalization (HH) allows better clinically stable patient control after an acute illness by a highly specialized health care team.Objective: to know the nutritional condition of home hospitalization patients using a computer application that allows the implementation of early nutritional measures at home and improves post-hospital control of these patients.Material and Methods: prospective multicenter study of the nutritional condition of patients in four different home hospitalization centers during a period of two consecutive months in 2016. Variables were collected: home hospitalization, age, gender, reason for admission, associated morbidity, origin, diagnosis, social assessment, previous nutritional support, height, weight, weight loss, time of weight loss, total proteins, albumin, lymphocytes, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), nutritional condition, type and degree of malnutrition. Nutritional condition was assessed using the application HEN-Persan and results were statistically analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 software.Results: no significant differences were found between the four centers. In home hospitalization patients, 36% presented a normal nutritional screening and 87% presented some degree of malnutrition, while combined malnutrition prevailed (63%). Depending on the nutritional degree, 36% of patients had mild malnutrition, 27% presented moderate malnutrition and 35% had severe malnutrition.Conclusions: a computer application allows for an immediate, secure and reliable nutritional assessment in home hospitalization that helps introduce early nutritional measures and improve post-hospital control of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, often resistant to more than one class of antibiotics including carbapenems and aminoglycosides, pose serious threats in healthcare settings worldwide. A 2015 White House task force issued guidelines to combat antibiotic-resistant strains in the United States, which the Center for Diseases Center has termed "nightmare bacteria". MDR pathogens cause at least two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths annually in the U.S. MDR A. baumannii (MDR-Ab) cause 10% of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) with 70% patient mortality. A mini-outbreak of carbapenem-resistant (CR)MDR-Ab (CR-MDR-Ab) occurred during a 2009-2010H1N1epidemic at Carilion Medical Center (CMC) in Virginia, U.S; three of the nine patients died. To develop effective strategies for prevention, control and treatment of MDR infections, we are performing whole genome analysis of the clinical isolates of CR-MDR-Ab. Methods & Materials: To date, we have analyzed 68 Ab clinical isolates, including five CR-MDR-Ab outbreak strains. We have sequenced and analyzed whole genomes of the following MDRAb isolates: an isolate from outbreak patients (CMC-MDR-Ab4); a carbapenem-sensitive isolate (CMC-MDR-Ab59); and a CR-MDR-Ab (CMC-MDR-Ab66) isolate from sporadic cases. The sequencing was performed on the PacBioRSII platform. Results: The CR CMC-MDR-Ab strains were found to carry two plasmids, pCMCVTAb1 and pCMCVTAb2. The latter is conjugative type and carried two transposons: Tn2008-like, containing a beta-lactamase gene (blaOXA23) and conferring CR, and a TnaphA6 element causing aminoglycoside resistance and further reducing treatment choices. Their chromosomes carried five bla genes and an aphA1 gene. A PCR analysis based upon the resistant determinants showed that all outbreak isolates (100%) carried pCMCVTAb2 containing the two transposons. Fourteen of the remaining 63 isolates (22.22%) carried pCMCVTAb2 and of these, six (42.85%) carried Tn2008-like, and two (14.28%) carried TnaphA6. These differences are statistically significant using Fisher's exact, two-tailed p = 0.0011, p = 0.0445 and p = 0.0018. Conclusion: The results suggested that pCMCVTAb2 was responsible for the CR-MDR outbreak. A PCR analysis based on the antibiotic-resistant genes of pCMCVTAb2 could be used for rapid identification of CR-MDR-Ab strains, thereby helping to prevent the spread and providing guidance for identification and treatment of hospitalized patients with CR-MDR-Ab infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity in an aging HIV population. However, risk estimation with the most frequent equations usually classifies HIV patients as having a low or moderate risk. Several studies have described a very high prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis in a middle-aged, non-HIV population. There is insufficient body of knowledge to understand if this is the case in people living with HIV (PLWH). We aim to calculate the proportion of patients with subclinical atherosclerosis in a single site cohort of HIV-infected subjects., Methods: We have analyzed chronically HIV infected adults (≥ 18 years) who were on active follow-up in an HIV unit specialized in the care of cardiovascular health. The most recent clinical visit and vascular ultrasonography were used to assess the objectives of our research. Our primary objective was to describe the proportion of participants with subclinical atherosclerosis (focal protrusion into the lumen > 0.5 mm or > 50% of the surrounding IMT or a diffuse thickness > 1.5 mm) in a single site cohort of PLWH. Carotid and iliofemoral territories were evaluated. As a secondary objective we have run a multivariate analysis to determine which HIV and non-HIV factors might be related with the presence of atherosclerotic plaques. Findings We included a total of 463 participants between November 2017 to October 2019. Subjects were predominantly male (84.2%) with a mean age of 48.8 years (SD 10.7). Hypercholesterolemia (36%) was the most prevalent comorbidity followed by Hypertension (18%) and Hypertriglyceridemia (16%). Mean duration of HIV infection is 12.3 years. Overall, participants had been receiving cART for a median of 9.5 years. Subclinical atherosclerosis was found in 197 subjects (42.5%; CI 95% [38.0-47.2]). The disease was found more frequently in the femoral arteries (37.8%) than in the carotid vascular bed (18.6%). Despite some HIV factors correlated with the presence of plaques in a univariate analysis (e.g., time with HIV-1 RNA > 50 copies/mL or time from HIV diagnosis), the only two explanatory factors that remained associated with the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the multivariate analysis were smoking (OR 5.47, 95% CI 3.36 - 8.90) and age (OR 1.13, 95%CI 1.10 - 1.16). Interpretation We have found a very high prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis among our cohort of PLWH. Despite having analyzed several HIV factors, age and smoking have been found to be the only factors associated with the development of atherosclerotic plaques., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To assess the microbiological characteristics of Escherichia coli causing healthcare-associated bacteraemia of urinary origin (HCA-BUO) in Spain (ITUBRAS-2 project), with particular focus on ESBL producers and isolates belonging to ST131 high-risk clone (HiRC). Clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with ST131 infection were investigated., Methods: A total of 222 E. coli blood isolates were prospectively collected from patients with HCA-BUO from 12 tertiary-care hospitals in Spain (2017-19). Antimicrobial susceptibility and ESBL/carbapenemase production were determined. ST131 subtyping was performed. A subset of 115 isolates were selected for WGS to determine population structure, resistome and virulome. Clinical charts were reviewed., Results: ESBL-producing E. coli prevalence was 30.6% (68/222). ST131 represented 29.7% (66/222) of E. coli isolates and accounted for the majority of ESBL producers (46/68, 67.6%). The C2/H30-Rx subclone accounted for most ST131 isolates (44/66) and was associated with CTX-M-15 (37/44) and OXA-1 enzymes (27/44). Cluster C1-M27 was identified in 4/10 isolates belonging to subclade C1/H30-R1 and associated with CTX-M-27. Additionally, ST131 isolates showed a high content of other acquired resistance genes, and clade C/ST131 isolates carried characteristic QRDR mutations. They were categorized as uropathogenic E. coli and had higher aggregate virulence scores. ST131 infection was associated with more complex patients, prior use of cephalosporins and inadequate empirical treatment but was not associated with worse clinical outcomes., Conclusions: ST131 HiRC is the main driver of ESBL-producing E. coli causing HCA-BUO in Spain, mainly associated with the expansion of subclade CTX-M-15-C2/H30-Rx and the emergence of CTX-M-27-C1/H30-R1 (Cluster C1-M27)., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is recognized as one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide. In Spain, the HPV vaccination program started in 2007 and until 2022, it targeted 12-year-old girls., Methods: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter survey-based research carried out at 24 pediatric offices to describe HPV knowledge and vaccine acceptability in parents of children aged between 9 and 14 years-old in Spain. Parents were randomly selected from the medical records following specific quotas to ensure representativeness. The survey included five sections that aim to collect information about sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of HPV, knowledge and acceptability of vaccines in general, HPV vaccination knowledge and HPV vaccine acceptability. Each section was constituted by a number of close questions with different answer options. Specific scores were assigned to each possible answer to these questions. Based on these scores, four composite variables were created to assess HPV knowledge, HPV vaccine knowledge, HPV vaccine acceptability and vaccines knowledge and acceptability in general. A latent class analysis was performed to identify different group of respondents according to their HPV vaccine acceptability., Results: A total of 1405 valid surveys were included, with 86.19% of the respondents being mothers. The mean score of HPV knowledge was 28.92 out of 40 (maximum value) (95% CI 28.70-29.20) and the mean score of HPV vaccine acceptability was 3.37 out of 5 (maximum value). One third of parents still need more information to take a final decision about HPV vaccination in their children. Parents perceived that females were more likely to become infected than males and tended to associate HPV infection mainly with cervical cancer, showing a. a lack of information about other HPV-related diseases affecting males., Conclusions: This study results highlight the need for future actions and educational initiatives to raise awareness of HPV consequences in both genders and to contribute to achieving the elimination of HPV-related diseases beyond cervical cancer., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Of particular interest for this topic are the signaling cascades that regulate cell survival and death, two opposite cell programs whose control is hijacked by viral infections. The AKT and the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) pathways, which maintain cell homeostasis by regulating these two programs, have been shown to be deregulated during SARS-CoVs infection as well as in the development of cancer, one of the most important comorbidities in relation to COVID-19. Recent evidence revealed two way crosstalk mechanisms between the AKT and the UPR pathways, suggesting that they might constitute a unified homeostatic control system. Here, we review the role of the AKT and UPR pathways and their interaction in relation to SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as in tumor onset and progression. Feedback regulation between AKT and UPR pathways emerges as a master control mechanism of cell decision making in terms of survival or death and therefore represents a key potential target for developing treatments for both viral infection and cancer. In particular, drug repositioning, the investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes, could significantly reduce time and costs compared to de novo drug discovery., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Social media, and in particularly Twitter, can be a resource of enormous value to retrieve information about the opinion of general populaton to vaccines. The increasing popularity of this social media has allowed to use its content to have a clear picture of their users on this topic. In this paper, we perform a study about vaccine-related messages published in Spanish during 2015-2018. More specifically, the paper has focused on two specific diseases: influenza and measles (and MMR as its vaccine). By also including an analysis about the sentiment expressed on the published tweets, we have been able to identify the type of messages that are published on Twitter with respect these two pathologies and their vaccines. Results showed that in contrary on popular opinions, most of the messages published are non-negative. On the other hand, the analysis showed that some messages attracted a huge attention and provoked peaks in the number of published tweets, explaining some changes in the observed trends.

Background: Since the introduction of HPV vaccines, several studies have been conducted in different countries to assess HPV knowledge and vaccine acceptance. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic literature review to summarize results and identify factors associated with HPV knowledge and vaccine acceptance in adolescents and their parents and to compile the measurement tools used in the published research studies performed in European countries where HPV is licensed., Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted for studies published between January 1st 2006 and December 31st 2017., Results: Seventy non-interventional studies performed in 16 European countries met the inclusion criteria. Thirty-eight of them reported data on HPV knowledge and 40 reported data on HPV vaccine acceptance. Further, 51.8% of adolescents (range 0% to 98.6%) and 64.4% of parents (range 1.7% to 99.3%) knew about HPV infection. Insufficient information and safety concerns were the main barriers to vaccination acceptance., Conclusion: HPV knowledge and vaccine acceptance are still modest and vary widely between studies across EU countries. Coordinated efforts should be made to provide the relevant population with information for informed decision-making about HPV vaccination., Competing Interests: Competing interestsNL, BR, and MC work for Merck Sharp & Dohme Spain; MTA works for Adelphi Spain; MGS, and ISC report personal fees from Merck Sharp & Dohme Spain during the study and personal fees from Merck Sharp & Dohme Spain and GlaxoSmithKline outside the submitted work. MBP reports personal fees from Merck Sharp & Dohme Spain during the study and personal fees from Merck Sharp & Dohme Spain., (© The Author(s) 2020.)

Introduction: Patient experience is central to the quality of healthcare delivery, showing positive associations with several outcome measures. The main objectives of this study are to analyze the influence of patient experience on the health-related quality of life in people living with HIV and the role played by treatment complexity and clinical care., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 467 patients with HIV. We used the Instrument for Evaluation of the Experience of Chronic Patients and the Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L). We analyzed a predictive model through the partial least squares (PLS) method., Results: The patient self-management scores showed the highest positive relationship with the patient's health-related quality of life (β = 0.24, β = 0.32, p < 0.0001). Patients' treatment complexity had a negative influence on health-related quality of life (β = - 0.21, β = - 0.28, p < 0.0001). The complexity of clinical care had negative effects on health-related quality of life, both directly (β = - 0.37, β = - 0.19, p < 0.0001) and through its negative influence on the productive interactions with healthcare professionals (β = - 0.21, p < 0.0001) and patient self-management factors (β = - 0.21, p < 0.0001). The effects of patient experience dimensions on their health-related quality of life were higher in people living with HIV > 50 years old (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Patient experience mainly influenced the health-related quality of life of older people living with HIV. The treatment and clinical care complexity played an important role in degrading the patients' experience and their quality of life. More integrated care would benefit the health-related quality of life of people living with HIV., Funding: This project was funded by Merck Sharp & Dohme, Spain.

Introduction: the prevalence of hospital malnutrition is high and involves an increase in health care costs. Home hospitalization (HH) allows better clinically stable patient control after an acute illness by a highly specialized health care team., Objective: to know the nutritional condition of home hospitalization patients using a computer application that allows the implementation of early nutritional measures at home and improves post-hospital control of these patients., Material and Methods: prospective multicenter study of the nutritional condition of patients in four different home hospitalization centers during a period of two consecutive months in 2016. Variables were collected: home hospitalization, age, gender, reason for admission, associated morbidity, origin, diagnosis, social assessment, previous nutritional support, height, weight, weight loss, time of weight loss, total proteins, albumin, lymphocytes, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), nutritional condition, type and degree of malnutrition. Nutritional condition was assessed using the application HEN-Persan and results were statistically analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 software., Results: no significant differences were found between the four centers. In home hospitalization patients, 36% presented a normal nutritional screening and 87% presented some degree of malnutrition, while combined malnutrition prevailed (63%). Depending on the nutritional degree, 36% of patients had mild malnutrition, 27% presented moderate malnutrition and 35% had severe malnutrition., Conclusions: a computer application allows for an immediate, secure and reliable nutritional assessment in home hospitalization that helps introduce early nutritional measures and improve post-hospital control of patients.

Background: Antiretroviral drugs with a lower potential to induce hepatic steatosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection need to be identified. We compared the effect of switching efavirenz (EFV) to raltegravir (RAL) on hepatic steatosis among HIV-infected patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) receiving EFV plus 2 nucleoside analogues., Methods: HIV-infected patients on EFV plus tenofovir/emtricitabine or abacavir/lamivudine with NAFLD were randomized 1:1 to switch from EFV to RAL (400 mg twice daily), maintaining nucleoside analogues unchanged, or to continue with EFV plus 2 nucleoside analogues. At baseline, eligible patients should show controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) values ≥238 dB/m. Changes in hepatic steatosis at 48 weeks of follow-up over baseline levels were measured by CAP., Results: Overall, 39 patients were included, and 19 of them were randomized to switch to RAL. At week 48, median CAP for the RAL group was 250 (Q1-Q3, 221-277) dB/m and 286 (Q1-Q3, 269-314) dB/m for the EFV group (P = .035). The median decrease in CAP values was -20 (Q1-Q3, -67 to 15) dB/m for the RAL arm and 30 (Q1-Q3, -17 to 49) dB/m for the EFV group (P = .011). CAP values <238 dB/m at week 48 were observed in 9 (47%) patients on RAL and 3 (15%) individuals on EFV (P = .029)., Conclusions: After 48 weeks, HIV-infected individuals switching EFV to RAL showed decreases in the degree of hepatic steatosis, as measured by CAP, compared with those continuing with EFV. In addition, the proportion of patients without significant hepatic steatosis after 48 weeks was greater for those who switched to RAL., Clinical Trials Registration: NCT01900015., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The term cancer of unknown primary site includes metastatic tumours with different histology and behaviour. Although most of them have a poor short-term prognosis, some patients can benefit from a treatment and will achieve a longer survival. The treatable cases are: metastases of squamous carcinoma in cervical or inguinal adenopathies, metastases of adenocarcinoma in axilar adenopathies in women, malignant ascites due to adenocarcinoma in women, osteoblastic bone metastases in men with elevated serum prostatic specific antigen levels, poorly differentiated tumours with features of a germinal extragonadal tumour, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas and patients with a single metastasis. Chemotherapy must be considered in the rest of patients, although the optimum regimen is not well established yet., (Copyright (c) 2008 Sociedad Española de Calidad Asistencial. Published by Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Estimate the budgetary impact of using a set-dose combination of efavirenz-emtricitabine-tenofovir for the Spanish health care system's treatment of patients infected with HIV-1, while evaluating repercussions for each autonomous community in 2008., Methods: We developed a budgetary impact model with pharmacological costs for the different currently available treatment options, based on GeSida's recommended guidelines for treating HIV-positive patients. The model defines five possible scenarios in which various possibilities for substituting different drug cocktails with the efavirenz-emtricitabine-enofovir combination are contemplated., Results: The investment per patient on a national level amounts to euro7,989 in the base scenario (without considering the availability of the efavirenz-emtricitabine-tenofovir combination) and to euro7,997, euro8,424, euro7,830, euro8,375 and euro8,527 for scenario 1 (substitution of recommended drugs with efavirenz, emtricitabine and tenofovir or efavirenz, lamivudine and tenofovir); scenario 2 (substitution of recommended drugs with efavirenz); scenario 3 (substitution of recommended drugs with tenofovir); scenario 4 (substitution of recommended drugs with tenoforvir or zidovudine) and scenario 5 (total substitution), respectively. Compared with the base scenario this means increments of 0.11 %, 5.45 %, -1.99 %, 4.83 % and 6.73 % for scenarios 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5., Conclusion: Use of a set combination of efavirenz, emtricitabine and tenofovir to treat adult patients with the HIV-1 virus would lead to slight surpluses or even budgetary savings by decreasing the number of daily doses, which could increase patients' quality of life and help them stay on the treatment properly.

Cancer of unknown primary site (CUPS) is a heterogeneous entity defined by the presence of a histologically-proven metastatic neoplasm, in which the original tumor cannot be identified after a targeted study. The current guidelines for CUPS focus is not based on the search for the primary neoplasm but rather on the identification of patients who may benefit from a treatment that will prolong their survival, based on the clinical and histological characteristics of each case. By improving the diagnostic study, we avoid using fruitless tests in patients with limited therapeutic possibilities and poor short-term prognosis.

This study analyzes the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on visceral leishmaniasis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals. We describe 66 episodes diagnosed in our hospital from 1994 through 2000 (35 episodes in patients who were not receiving HAART and 31 episodes in patients who were receiving HAART). Since HAART became available, the incidence of visceral leishmaniasis has significantly decreased and the number of first episodes has decreased, although the number of relapses is increasing.