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Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of severe liver events among HIV-infected patients treated with drug combinations including tipranavir boosted with ritonavir (TPV/r).Methods: One hundred and fifty patients were selected because they started a regimen that included TPV/r (500/200 mg twice a day) and had clinical visits at least every 3 months. Patients who discontinued TPV/r before their first visit were included.Results: Twelve (8%) individuals developed grade>or=3 transaminase elevation (G>or=3TE). Nine (6%) patients discontinued TPV/r due to liver events. Six (8.6%) of 70 hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infected patients and 6 (7.5%) of 80 subjects without HCV co-infection developed G>or=3TE (P=1). Liver fibrosis was evaluable in 48 (63%) of 76 individuals with hepatitis B virus and/or HCV infection. Four (13%) of 30 subjects with moderate-to-severe fibrosis and none of 18 with mild fibrosis showed G>or=3TE (P=0.3). None of nine patients with cirrhosis showed G>or=3TE.Conclusions: Liver tolerability of TPV/r was generally good in a cohort of patients with a high proportion of HCV co-infection, including subjects with advanced fibrosis. The presence of HCV co-infection was not associated with an increased risk of severe transaminase elevations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assess the prenatal and postnatal effect of the High-Risk Pregnancy and Baby Parenting programme, which is complemented with two mHealth (app-based) resources. The GLM Repeated Measures Model technique was used to explore differences in the emotional health of the participants and in their infants' neurodevelopment, comparing programme versus usual care groups, composed of 150 and 195 participants, respectively. The mothers presented lower levels of depression (mean difference 1.74, p  = 0.04, 95% CI 0.07, 3.40) and higher levels of resilience (mean difference 4.09, p  = 0.004, 95% CI 1.40, 6.78). For the fathers, positive effects on resilience were recorded ( p  < 0.001). A positive treatment effect was perceived in the infants' cognitive ( p  = 0.014), language ( p  < 0.001) and motor ( p  = 0.006) development. These findings suggest application of the programme can benefit maternal emotional health and infant neurodevelopment. M-Health technology could make this programme more accessible., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

This study was designed with the purpose of testing the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Attitudes toward Prostitution and Prostitutes Scale through three studies with different samples. The first one explores the test's dimensional structure or constructs validity through confirmatory factor analysis, as well as internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The second one focuses on discriminant and criteria validity. Finally, the third one examines the scale's convergent validity and its sensitivity to detecting changes. The results support two subscales with an optimal index of internal consistency, structural stability over time, and discriminative power between groups of participants. It is, therefore, an adequate tool for adults as well as young people and teenagers, and for detecting changes in the context of intervention or awareness workshops., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

This study aimed to analyse the long-term effect of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in vertically acquired HIV/HCV-coinfected youths. We performed a multicentre, longitudinal and observational study within the Spanish Cohort of HIV-infected children and adolescents and vertically HIV-infected patients transferred to Adult Units (CoRISpe-FARO). We included HIV/HCV-coinfected youths (n = 24) that received DAAs between 2015 and 2017 with successful sustained viral response (SVR) with a subsequent follow-up of at least three years. Long-term evolution in liver disease severity and haematologic markers, lipid and immune profiles after SVR were assessed. Study times were the start date of DAAs treatment (baseline, T0) and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years after SVR (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively). We observed global improvements in liver function data that persist over time and a favourable haematologic and immune outcome at the long-term including a constant augment in leucocytes, neutrophils, neutrophils to lymphocytes ratio (NLR) and CD4/CD8 ratio over-time. Regarding the lipid profile, we found a significant increase in total cholesterol T2, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio at T4, triglycerides at T5, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) over time, and a decrease in HDL in all patients but with marked higher levels in the subgroup receiving anti-HIV Protease Inhibitor (PI)-based regimens. Comparisons of vertically HIV/HCV-coinfected youths after SVR at 3-year follow-up and a control group of vertically HIV-monoinfected youths never infected by HCV showed no significant differences in most variables analysed, suggesting a possible normalization in all parameters., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

This report describes a 49-year-old male construction worker who acquired a Bacillus anthracis infection after working on a sheep farm. He experienced a severe respiratory infection, septic shock, and hemorrhagic meningoencephalitis with severe intracranial hypertension. After several weeks with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, he responded favorably to antibiotic treatment. Three weeks into his hospitalization, an intracranial hemorrhage and cerebral edema led to an abrupt deterioration in his neurological status. A single dose of raxibacumab was added to his antimicrobial regimen on hospital day 27. His overall status, both clinical and radiographic, improved within a few days. He was discharged 2 months after admission and appears to have fully recovered., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2022. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

(1) Background: this study is based on a model of how changes in protective factors may affect the emotional health of mothers and fathers and thus influence the development of the baby. Our research goal is to determine whether variations in perceived social support moderate levels of stress and depression during pregnancy and/or the effect of parents' emotional health on the baby's anthropometric parameters. (2) Methods: to achieve these aims, a longitudinal study was made of 132 couples and babies, who were evaluated at weeks 12 and 32 of gestation and at birth. Separate analyses were performed for the mothers and fathers, focused on the role of social support in moderating their levels of depression and stress during pregnancy, and the consequent impact on the baby. (3) Results: the results obtained show the moderating effects of changes in social support on maternal and paternal stress and depression. Reduced social support during pregnancy is associated with higher levels of stress and depression in both parents and with a high cephalisation index in their babies. (4) Conclusions: special attention should be paid to social support, which can have a strong impact on the evolution of emotional health during pregnancy and concomitantly on the development of the baby.

Early diagnosis and treatment of incident cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is fundamental to eliminate HCV in HIV-positive patients. From January 2016 to December 2019, we attended 40 episodes of acute HCV infection (AHC) in 35 subjects (9 reinfections) who were coinfected with HIV. The patients were treated with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) in seven hospitals in Andalusia, Spain. All were men who have sex with men (MSM), mean age was 42.9 (±8.3) years and median time of HIV infection was 46.6 months (IQR: 20.4-67.2). All received antiretroviral therapy and had undetectable HIV viral load (except 2 with 65 and 68 copies/mL); median CD4 count was 632 cells/mm 3 (IQR: 553-896). Over half (74.3%) also had another concomitant sexually transmitted infection, syphilis (48.6%) being the most common. AHC was asymptomatic in 32 cases (80%). Genotypic distribution was G1a 65%, G4 32.5% and G1b 3%. Median time to DAA was 6 weeks (IQR: 4.3-18.3) and median baseline HCV RNA was 6.1 Log (IQR: 5.6-6.5). DAA regimens were SOF/LDV (19 episodes), SOF/VEL (14), ELB/GZV (5) and GLP/PIB (2). All presented sustained viral response and none discontinued due to adverse effects. In conclusion, early treatment with DAA in AHC patients proved effective and safe. It could be an excellent strategy to eliminate HCV infection in HIV-coinfected MSM.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) who achieve sustained virological response (SVR) with direct-acting antiviral (DAA)., Methods: Multisite prospective cohort study, where HCV-monoinfected patients and HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals were included if they met: (1) SVR with DAA-based combination; (2) liver stiffness (LS) ≥9.5 kPa previous to treatment; (3) LS measurement at the SVR time-point. The main endpoint was the occurrence of HCC. Propensity score (PS) was calculated to address potential confounders due to unbalanced distribution of baseline characteristics of HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected patients., Results: In total, 1035 HCV-infected patients were included, 667 (64%) coinfected with HIV. After a median (Q1-Q3) follow-up time of 43 (31-49) months, 19 (1.8%) patients developed HCC (11 [3.0%]; HCV-monoinfected, 8[1.2%]; HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals; P = .013). In the multivariable analysis, HIV coinfection was associated with a lower adjusted risk of developing HCC (subhazard ratio [sHR] = 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: .08-.90; P = .034). Predictors of HCC emergence were: HCV genotype 3 (sHR = 7.9, 95% CI: 2.5-24.9; P < .001), MELD score at SVR >10 (sHR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.01-1.86; P = .043) and LS value at SVR (sHR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.06, for 1 kPa increase; P = .011). Using inverse probability weighting method on the PS, HIV-infected patients had a lower risk of HCC (powered HR = 0.33, 95% CI: .11-.85)., Conclusions: Among HCV-infected patients with advanced fibrosis, who achieve SVR with DAA, HIV coinfection seems to be associated with a lower risk of HCC occurrence. The underlying causes for this finding need to be investigated., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: In the setting of hepatitis C virus (HCV) active infection, liver stiffness (LS)-based strategies identify patients with low risk of developing esophageal variceal bleeding (VB) episodes, in whom unnecessary upper esophagogastroduodenoscopy (UGE) screening can be safely avoided. However, after sustained virological response (SVR), data on the accuracy of the criteria predicting this outcome in HCV-infected patients with cirrhosis, with or without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection, are very limited., Methods: This was a multicenter prospective cohort study, where HCV-monoinfected patients and HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals were included if they had (1) SVR with direct-acting antiviral-based therapy; (2) LS ≥9.5 kPa previous to treatment; and (3) LS measurement at the SVR time-point ≥14 kPa. Diagnostic accuracy of HEPAVIR, expanded Baveno VI, and HIV cirrhosis criteria, at the time of SVR, was evaluated. Missed VB episodes, negative predictive values (NPVs), and number of spared UGEs were specifically assessed., Results: Four hundred thirty-five patients were included, 284 (65%) coinfected with HIV. Seven (1.6%) patients developed a first episode of VB after SVR. In patients without a previous VB episode, HEPAVIR, expanded Baveno VI and HIV cirrhosis criteria achieved NPV for first VB episode after SVR of 99.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 97.1%-100%), 100% (95% CI 97.8%-100%), and 100% (95% CI 98%-100%) while sparing 45%, 39%, and 44% of UGEs, respectively. When considering HIV coinfection, the performance of the 3 criteria was similar, both in HCV-monoinfected and HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals., Conclusions: After SVR, predictive LS-based strategies accurately identify HCV-infected patients, HIV coinfected or not, with low risk of developing VB during follow-up. In these specific patients, using HIV cirrhosis criteria maximize the number of spared UGEs while missing no VB episode., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Bariatric surgery (BS) is the most effective procedure in the management of obesity, achieving a significant decrease in energy intake., Aim: To measure calorie and macronutrient intake in patients subjected to gastric bypass (GBP) or sleeve gastrectomy (SG)., Material and Methods: We studied 53 patients subjected to SG and 27 subjected to GBP, who were in the first, second or sixth postoperative month. A food frequency consumption survey was applied by specialized nutritionists and their nutritional status was assessed., Results: Mean calorie intake in months 1, 2 and 6 were 505, 600 and 829.8 kcal, respectively. A significantly higher intake was observed at month 1 in patients with those subjected to SG, compared with GBP patients. Protein consumption was <60 g/d, except at 6 months in patients with GBP. At months 1, 2 and 6, mean consumption of lipids were 17, 28 and 30 g/day, respectively. The figures for carbohydrates were 42, 31 and 77 g/day, respectively. At month 1, patients with GBP had a higher BMI, equalizing at 6 months with those of SG. At 6 months 37% of patients had a normal body mass index and 17% remained obese. A negative correlation was observed between weight loss and energy intake during the first month (rho: -0.40; p = 0.033)., Conclusions: Patients subjected to BS had a low calorie and macronutrient intake in the first six postoperative months. Their calorie intake is negatively associated with weight loss, mainly during the first postoperative month.

Background: Children living with HIV are reaching adulthood and transitioning to adult clinics. This study aimed to describe clinical and immunovirological status after transition in patients with perinatal HIV., Methods: Patients participating in the Spanish multicenter pediatric HIV cohort (CoRISpe) transferred to adult care (FARO cohort) from 1997 to 2016 were included. Clinical and immunovirological data were collected from 12 years old to the last follow-up moment after transition (up to December 2017). We used mixed-effect models to analyze changes in CD4 counts or viral suppression and multivariate analysis for risk factors for virological failure (VF) and immune status after transition. Transition years were classified into 5-year periods., Results: Three hundred thirty-two youths were included. The median age at transition was 18 years (interquartile range: 16.3-18.9) and 58.1% women. The median follow-up time after transition was 6.6 years (interquartile range: 4.6-9.8), and 11 patients (3.3%) died. The immunovirological status at transition improved over the last periods. Globally, VF decreased from 27.7% at transition to 14.4% at 3 years post-transition (P < 0.001), but no changes were observed in the last 2 transition periods. There were no significant differences in CD4 over the transition period. Risk factors for VF after transition were female sex, being born abroad and VF at transition, and for lower CD4 after transition were Romani heritage, younger age at transition, lower CD4 nadir, and CD4 at transition., Conclusions: After transition, virological suppression improved in the early transition periods, and immunological status remained stable. Nevertheless, some patients had higher risk of worse outcomes. Identifying these patients may aid during transition., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Some people living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) with sustained virological response (SVR) develop hepatic complications. Liver stiffness (LS) predicts clinical outcome in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with active HCV coinfection, but information after SVR is lacking. We aimed to analyze the predictive ability of LS at SVR for liver complications in people living with HIV/HCV with advanced fibrosis treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAA)., Methods: In sum, 640 people living with HIV/HCV fulfilling the following criteria were included: (i) Achieved SVR with DAA-including regimen; (ii) LS ≥ 9.5 kPa before therapy; and (iii) LS measurement available at SVR. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of a liver complication-hepatic decompensation or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-or requiring liver transplant after SVR., Results: During a median (Q1-Q3) follow-up of 31.6 (22.7-36.6) months, 19 (3%) patients reached the primary endpoint. In the multivariate analysis, variables (subhazard ratio [SHR] [95% confidence interval]) associated with developing clinical outcomes were: prior hepatic decompensations (3.42 [1.28-9.12]), pretreatment CPT class B or C (62.5 [3.08-1246.42]) and MELD scores (1.37 [1.03-1.82]), CPT class B or C at SVR (10.71 [1.32-87.01]), CD4 cell counts <200/µL at SVR time-point (4.42 [1.49-13.15]), FIB-4 index at SVR (1.39 [1.13-1.70]), and LS at SVR (1.05 [1.02-1.08] for 1 kPa increase). None of the 374 patients with LS <14kPa at SVR time-point developed a liver complication or required hepatic transplant., Conclusions: LS at the time of SVR after DAA therapy predicts the clinical outcome of people living with HIV/HCV with advanced fibrosis. These results suggest that LS measurement may be helpful to select candidates to be withdrawn from surveillance programs., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: To explore the behavior of C-reactive protein (CRP) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) during the first postoperative days, and its usefulness as a marker of severe early allograft dysfunction (EAD)., Design: A prospective, single-center cohort study was carried out., Setting: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a regional hospital with a liver transplant program since 1997., Patients: The study comprised a total of 183 patients admitted to our ICU immediately after liver transplantation between 2009 and 2015., Variables of Interest: C-reactive protein levels upon ICU admission and after 24 and 48h, severe EAD and hospital mortality., Results: The CRP levels after OLT were: upon ICU admission 57.5 (51.6-63.3)mg/L, after 24h 80.1 (72.9-87.3)mg/L and after 48h 69.9 (62.5-77.4)mg/L. Severe EAD patients (14.2%) had higher mortality (23.1 vs 2.5; OR 11.48: 2.98-44.19) and lower CRP upon ICU admission (39.3 [29.8-48.7]mg/L) than the patients without EAD (0.5 [53.9-67.0]; p<0.05] - the best cut-off point being 68mg/L (sensitivity 92.3%; specificity 40.1%; Youden index 0.33). Lower CRP upon ICU admission was correlated to higher mortality (24.5 [9.2-39.7] vs 59.4 [53.4-65.4]; p<0.01, AUC 0.79 [0.65-0.92])., Conclusion: Liver transplant is a strong inflammatory stimulus accompanied by high levels of C-reactive protein. A blunted rise in CRP on the first postoperative day after OLT may be a marker of poor allograft function and is related to hospital mortality., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.)

Treatment guidelines differ in their recommendation to determine baseline resistance associated substitutions (RAS) before starting a first-line treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Here we analyze the efficacy of DAA treatment with baseline RAS information. We conducted a prospective study involving 23 centers collaborating in the GEHEP-004 DAA resistance cohort. Baseline NS5A and NS3 RASs were studied by Sanger sequencing. After issuing a comprehensive resistance report, the treating physician decided the therapy, duration and ribavirin use. Sustained virological response (SVR12) data are available in 275 patients. Baseline NS5A RAS prevalence was between 4.3% and 26.8% according to genotype, and NS3 RASs prevalence (GT1a) was 6.3%. Overall, SVR12 was 97.8%. Amongst HCV-GT1a patients, 75.0% had >800,000 IU/ml and most of those that started grazoprevir/elbasvir were treated for 12 weeks. In genotype 3, NS5A Y93H was detected in 9 patients. 42.8% of the HCV-GT3 patients that started sofosbuvir/velpatasvir included ribavirin, although only 14.7% carried Y93H. The efficacy of baseline resistance-guided treatment in our cohort has been high across the most prevalent HCV genotypes in Spain. The duration of the grazoprevir/elbasvir treatment adhered mostly to AASLD/IDSA recommendations. In cirrhotic patients infected with GT-3 there has been a high use of ribavirin., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: The existence of psychological distress (PD) during pregnancy is well established. Nevertheless, few studies have analyzed the PD and resilience of mothers and fathers during high-risk pregnancy. This study analyzes the differences between parents' PD and resilience and the relation between them and the neurobehavioral performance of their SGA newborns., Methods: This prospective study compares two groups of parents and newborns: case group (52 parents and 26 SGA fetuses) and comparison group (68 parents and 34 appropriate-for-gestational-age, AGA, fetuses). In each group, the parents were evaluated during the last trimester of pregnancy, to obtain standardized measures of depression, stress, anxiety, and resilience. At 40 ± 1 weeks corrected gestational age, psychologists evaluated the state of neonatal neuromaturity achieved., Results: Multivariate analysis of variance showed, in gender comparisons, that mothers obtained higher scores than fathers for psychological distress but lower ones for resilience. Similar differences were obtained in the comparison of parents' distress to intrauterine growth by SGA vs. AGA newborns. Mothers of SGA newborns were more distressed than the other groups. However, there were no differences between the fathers of SGA vs. AGA newborns. Regarding neurobehavioral performance, the profiles of SGA newborns reflected a lower degree of maturity than those of AGA newborns. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that high stress and low resilience among mothers partially predict low neurobehavioral performance in SGA newborns., Conclusions: These findings indicate that mothers of SGA newborns may need psychological support to relieve stress and improve their resilience. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the neurobehavioral performance of their babies in case early attention is needed.

Background: The objective was to analyze the effectiveness and safety of dual therapy with rilpivirine plus boosted-darunavir (RPV + bDRV) in real-life patients., Methods: Observational, retrospective, multi-center study in HIV+ patients who had received RPV + bDRV for 24 weeks to optimize/simplify their previous antiretroviral treatment. We determined the percentage of patients without virologic failure (2 consecutive viral loads > 50 copies/mL) at 24 weeks of treatment., Results: The study included 161 patients from 15 hospitals with median age of 49 years; 29.3% had previous AIDS stage and median CD4+ lymphocyte nadir of 170 cells/uL. They had been diagnosed with HIV for a median of 17 years and had received 14 years of ART, with five previous treatment combinations, and 36.6% had a history of virological failure. The reasons for the switch were simplification/optimization (49.7%), toxicity/intolerance (17.4%), or inadequate effectiveness of previous ART (10.6%). Baseline VL of 50-1000 copies/mL was recorded in 25.5% of the patients. In the"intention-to-treat" analysis at 24 weeks, 87.6% of 161 patients continued the study treatment without virologic failure criteria. In the "on treatment" analysis (excluding patients who discontinued treatment with dual therapy for any reason other than virologic failure) the efficacy was 94.6% (141/149 patients)., Conclusions: Dual therapy with RPV + DRVb proved to be effective and safe in patients with advanced HIV infection, long exposure to ART, low CD4 nadir, previous virologic failure, and/or history of ineffective ART.

Anthropogenic activities can deteriorate the quality of groundwater destined for human use and consumption due to the fact that human activities cause changes in groundwater chemistry. The changes are induced by chemical species coming from industrial waste, which interacts with rocks and minerals. These trigger agents (phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients) which can incorporate trace elements (As, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn). The main objective of the present work was to study the phosphate ions' and nitrogenous species' effects on the incorporation of trace elements into groundwater used for human consumption and to determine the physicochemical processes that participate in the incorporation of trace elements. The physicochemical analysis and elemental analysis by ICP of the groundwater that supplies the study area showed that the phosphorus (P) activity contributes in the incorporation of trace elements into the water. Significant correlations between the activities of P and Fe (0.516), Mn (0.553), Pb (0.756), and As (- 0.747) as well as the correlation of NH 4 + with As indicate that the presence of chemical species such as PO 4 3- (2.50-32.20 mg L -1 ), NO 3 - (0.89-30.80 mg L -1 ), and NH 4 + (0.2-12.70 mg L -1 ) are triggering agents that favor the dissolution and mobility of As (0.014-0.020 mg L -1 ), Fe (0.020-1.14 mg L -1 ), Mn (0.007-0.254 mg L -1 ), Ni (0.002-0.0141 mg L -1 ), Zn (0.009-0.459 mg L -1 ), and Pb (0.009-0.0170 mg L -1 ), species with adverse health effects because they are considered carcinogenic. Adequate control of the nitrogenous and phosphated material prevents the dissolution and mobility of trace elements into the water.

The physicochemical treatment (PT) of slaughterhouse wastewater (SWW) was investigated. In the first stage, calcium acetate (Ca(Ac) 2 ) was synthesized in five different ways: (1) acetic acid (HAc) and chicken eggshell (CaAc1), (2) lime (CaAc2), (3) a 1:1 eggshell and lime mixture (CaAc3), (4) a 1:2 eggshell and lime mixture (CaAc4), and (5) calcium oxide via the calcination of eggshell (CaAc5). The synthesized Ca(Ac) 2 samples were characterized by IR, SEM, XRD, and EDS. Subsequently, the samples were used to precipitate oxyanions and organic matter. The experiments were carried out at pH 4 and 12. For the treatment with CaAc1 at pH 4, an acid (HCl, H 2 SO 4 , or HAc) was also added. The best results for CaAc1 in acid media were attained with HCl, where removal efficiencies of 82.23% total suspended solids, 76% turbidity, 81.43% color, 53.86% Fe, 69.74% Cu, and 14.64% Na were observed. This treatment also removed ∼99% fecal and total coliforms, 26.49% COD, and 78.39% TOC. The experiments were also performed at pH 12 using CaAc1. These afforded removal efficiencies of 92.7% turbidity, 84.7% color, 40.5% phosphates (PO 4 3- ), and 64.7% sulfates (SO 4 2- ). In addition, this method removed metals, 35.37% COD and 99% fecal and total coliforms.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) response to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) may be influenced by the presence of resistance-associated substitutions (RASs). This study aimed to assess if NS5A baseline RAS-guided treatment enhances the rate of sustained viral response (SVR) in naïve HCV-infected patients in clinical practice. All HCV-infected patients who initiated treatment with interferon (IFN)-free DAA-based regimens between March 2016 and May 2017 in 17 Spanish hospitals and who had evaluable SVR 12 weeks (SVR12) after the end of therapy were included. Patients had to be DAA naïve, with the exception of sofosbuvir with/without IFN. In one hospital, participants received therapy guided by the presence of NS5A-RASs (RGT population). Patients enrolled in the remaining hospitals, without baseline RASs testing, constituted the control population. A total of 120 and 512 patients were included in the RGT and control populations, respectively. Nine (7.5%) individuals in the RGT population showed baseline NS5A-RASs. All of them achieved SVR12. The SVR12 rate in the RGT population was 97.2% (three relapses) whereas it was 98.8% (six relapses) in the control population (p = 0.382). Our findings suggest that testing for baseline NS5A-RASs in naïve HCV-infected patients does not enhance the rate of SVR to DAA-based IFN-free therapy in clinical practice.

Little data are available on renal toxicity exerted by direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in real life. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of direct-acting antivirals against hepatitis C virus infection currently used in Spain and Portugal on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in clinical practise. From an international, prospective multicohort study, patients treated with DAAs for at least 12 weeks and with eGFR ≥30 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 at baseline were selected. eGFR was determined using the CKD-EPI formula. A total of 1131 patients were included; 658 (58%) were HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Among the 901 patients treated for 12 weeks, median (interquartile range) eGFR was 100 (87-107) at baseline vs 97 (85-105) mL/min per 1.73 m 2 at week 12 of follow-up (FU12) post-treatment (P < .001). For HIV-coinfected subjects who received tenofovir plus a ritonavir-boosted HIV protease inhibitor (PI/r), baseline vs FU12 eGFR were 104 (86-109) vs 104 (91-110) mL/min per 1.73 m 2 (P = .913). Among subjects receiving ombitasvir/paritaprevir with or without dasabuvir, eGFR did not show any significant change. Of 1100 subjects with eGFR >60 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 at baseline, 22 (2%) had eGFR <60 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 at FU12, but none presented with eGFR <30 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 . In conclusion, eGFR slightly declines during therapy with all-oral DAAs and this effect persists up to 12 weeks after stopping treatment in subjects with normal to moderately impaired renal function, regardless of HIV status. Concomitant use of tenofovir plus PI/r does not seem to have an impact on eGFR., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background Data on the efficacy, safety, and concomitant use with other drugs of the combination ritonavir-boosted paritaprevir/ombitasvir plus dasabuvir (PrOD) in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients in real life are limited. The objectives of this study were to analyze these topics in HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects bearing HCV genotype 1 (GT1). Methods One hundred and eighty-two HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with GT1 (87 1a, 71 1b, 23 other) treated with PrOD, plus ribavirin (RBV) in 119 cases, in routine clinical practice were analyzed. The main variable of efficacy was sustained virological response (SVR) 12 weeks after completing therapy in an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis and that of safety treatment discontinuation because of adverse effects. Factors associated with SVR were analyzed with a modified ITT (mITT) strategy. Results One hundred and seventy-two (94%) patients attained SVR, 3 (2%) experienced a relapse and two (1%) discontinued therapy due to adverse events. The rates of SVR in subjects with GT 1a and 1b by mITT were, respectively, 97% and 98%. Sixty-five (98%) out of 66 patients with cirrhosis and 107 (98%) out of 110 (p = 1) non-cirrhotics achieved SVR. Fifty-five (95%) patients on concomitant darunavir therapy developed SVR vs. 117 (99%) (p = 0.105) of those without DRV. RBV dose was reduced in 13 (11%) patients and permanently discontinued in 2 (2%), with no impact on SVR. Conclusions PrOD is highly effective and well tolerated in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with GT1 in routine clinical practice. RBV is often required. However, RBV dose reduction or discontinuation is uncommonly needed and do not impair the SVR rate.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the predictive capacity of response at treatment week (TW) 4 for the achievement of sustained virological response 12 weeks after the scheduled end of therapy date (SVR 12 ) to treatment against hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3 (GT3) infection with all-oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) -based regimens., Patients and Methods: From a prospective multicohort study, HCV GT3-infected patients who completed a course of currently recommended DAA-based therapy at 33 Spanish hospitals and who had reached the SVR 12 evaluation time-point were selected. TW4 HCV-RNA levels were categorized as target-not-detected (TND), below the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ TD ) and ≥LLOQ., Results: A total of 123 patients were included, 86 (70%) received sofosbuvir/ daclatasvir±ribavirin, 27 (22%) received sofosbuvir/ ledipasvir/ ribavirin and 10 (8.1%) received sofosbuvir/ ribavirin, respectively. In all, 114 (92.7%) of the 123 patients presented SVR 12 in an on-treatment approach, but nine (7.3%) patients relapsed, all of them had presented cirrhosis at baseline. In those who achieved TND, LLOQ TD and ≥LLOQ, SVR 12 was observed in 81/83 (98%; 95% CI 91.5%-99.7%), 24/28 (85.7%; 95% CI 67.3%-96%) and 9/12 (75%; 95% CI 42.8%-94.5%), respectively; p (linear association) 0.001. Corresponding numbers for subjects with cirrhosis were: 52/54 (96.3%; 95% CI 87.3%-95.5%), 14/18 (77.8%; 95% CI 52.4%-93.6%) and 7/10 (70%; 95% CI 34.8%-93.3%); p 0.004., Conclusions: TW4-response indicates the probability of achieving SVR 12 to currently used DAA-based therapy in HCV genotype 3-infected individuals with cirrhosis. This finding may be useful to tailor treatment strategy in this setting., (Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: HIV/HCV-coinfected patients and hepatitis C virus (HCV) monoinfected subjects are thought to respond equally to direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-based therapy despite the lack of data derived from clinical trials. This study is aimed to evaluate the impact of HIV coinfection on the response to DAA-based treatment against HCV infection in the clinical practice., Patients and Methods: In a prospective multicohort study, patients who initiated DAA-based therapy at the Infectious Disease Units of 33 hospitals throughout Spain were included. The primary efficacy outcome variables were the achievement of sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the scheduled end of therapy date (SVR12)., Results: A total of 908 individuals had reached the SVR12 evaluation time-point, 426 (46.9%) were HIV/HCV-coinfected, and 472 (52%) received interferon (IFN)-free therapy. In an intention-to-treat analysis, SVR12 rates in subjects with and without HIV-coinfection were 55.3% (94/170 patients) versus 67.3% (179/266 subjects; p = 0.012) for IFN-based treatment and 86.3% (221/256 subjects) versus 94.9% (205/216 patients, p = 0.002) for IFN-free regimens. Relapse after end-of-treatment response to IFN-free therapy was observed in 3/208 (1.4%) HCV-monoinfected subjects and 10/231 (4.4%) HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals (p = 0.075). In a multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex, transmission route, body-mass index, HCV genotype, and cirrhosis, the absence of HIV-coinfection (adjusted odds ratio: 3.367; 95% confidence interval: 1.15-9.854; p = 0.027) was independently associated with SVR12 to IFN-free therapy., Conclusions: HIV-coinfection is associated with worse response to DAA-based therapy against HCV infection. In patients receiving IFN-free therapy, this fact seems to be mainly driven by a higher rate of relapses among HIV-coinfected subjects.

Background: Acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (AHCVI) outbreaks have been described recently within defined areas worldwide among HIV-infected homosexual men. This study aims to describe the cumulative frequency and incidence of firstly acquired AHCVI in an HIV-infected population in Southern Spain., Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at the Infectious Diseases Units of eight hospitals in Andalusia, Southern Spain. Primary AHC was considered as HCV immunoglobulin G antibody seroconversion. The time of infection was considered the moment between the last negative and the first positive HCV antibody determination., Results: A total of 23 cases of primary AHCVI have been detected from 2000 to 2014. Incidence rates [IR; 95 % confidence interval (CI)] were 0.036 (2.272-0.054) per 100 person-years (py) in the overall population over a follow-up period of 64170 py. Of the 22 (95.7 %) male subjects, 21 (95.5 %) had acquired AHCVI by homosexual contact, the IR (95 % CI) was 0.039 (0.024-0.06) per 100 py in this subpopulation. There was no evidence of an increase of AHCVI IR. The incidence of AHCVI was slightly lower between 2000 and 2004 as compared to 2005-2009 [IR ratio (IRR) of 8.8 (95 % CI: 1.279-378.794; p = 0.01)] but reached a plateau afterwards [IRR between 2010 and 2014 versus 2005-2009: 0.727 (0.286-1.848; p = 0.5)]. The median (Q1-Q3) time between the last negative anti-HCV and the first positive anti-HCV determination was 4.7 (1.9-11.2) months. Peak (Q1-Q3) ALT and total bilirubin values during AHCVI were 496 (291-656) IU/mL and 1.15 (0.9-1.98) mg/dL, respectively., Conclusions: In contrast to what has been reported from other areas, the incidence of primary AHCVI in the HIV-infected population is stable in Southern Spain and there is no evidence of an epidemic, in spite of the high prevalence of HIV/HCV-coinfection in this area.

DIPNECH is characterized by neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia, tumorlets, and eventually carcinoid tumors. Although it is regarded by some authors as a preneoplastic condition, this issue is controversial. New pathologic criteria have recently been proposed for the diagnosis of DIPNECH, and a subgroup of carcinoid tumors expressing developing neural transcription factors (DNTFs), with clinicopathologic features similar to those of DIPNECH, has been recognized. This paper reports on the clinical and pathological findings in three cases of DIPNECH and investigates the expression of three DNTFs (TTF1, ASCL1, and POU3F2). All patients were female, with a mean age of 63 years, and all lesions were located in the periphery of the lung. In two cases, typical carcinoids were associated with a spindle-cell component. All neuroendocrine proliferations were DNTF positive. The morphologic (spindle-cell component), phenotypic (DNTF expression), and clinicopathologic (peripheral tumors, female predominance) similarities suggest that DIPNECH may be a preneoplastic lesion for peripheral carcinoids.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of transaminase elevations (TE) and total bilirubin elevations (TBE) during the first year of therapy with a single tablet regimen including RPV/FTC/TDF (EPA) in HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected subjects in clinical practice., Methods: In a retrospective analysis, HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects who started EPA at 17 centres throughout Spain were included as cases. Subjects who started an antiretroviral therapy (ART) other than EPA during the study period at the same hospitals were randomly selected as controls in a 1:2 ratio. Primary outcome variables were grade (G) 3-4 TE and G4 TBE., Results: Of the 519 subjects included, 173 individuals started EPA. Nine (5.2%) subjects of the EPA group and 49 (14.2%) controls were naïve to ART. The median (Q1-Q3) follow-up was 11.2 (9.7-13.9) months. TE was observed in 2 [1.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14%-4.1%] subjects receiving EPA and 11 (3.2%; 95%CI: 1.6%-5.6%) controls (p = 0.136), all events were G3. No patient discontinued ART due to TE. One (0.6%; 95%CI: 0.01%-3.1%) subject on EPA and 8 (2.3%; 95%CI: 1%-4.5%) subjects in the control group developed TBE (p = 0.141), without developing any other hepatic event during follow-up. Three (2.3%) subjects with cirrhosis versus 10 (3.1%) without cirrhosis showed G3-4 TE (p = 0.451)., Conclusion: The frequency of severe liver toxicity in HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects receiving EPA under real-life conditions is very low, TE were generally mild and did not lead to drug discontinuation. All these data suggest that EPA can be safely used in this particular subpopulation.

Objective: To assess the current frequency of ART-associated grade 3-4 transaminase elevations (TE) and grade 4 total bilirubin elevations (TBE) in HIV-infected patients with chronic hepatitis B and/or C, who start a new regimen of ART., Patients and Methods: A total of 192 pre-treated or treatment-naive HIV infected patients with HBV and/or HCV-coinfection who started ART in eight Southern Spanish centers from July/2011-December/2013, were followed for 12 months in this prospective study., Results: Forty-one (21.4%) subjects had been naïve to ART, median (IQR) follow-up was 11.6 (5.6-12.9) months. The most frequently initiated NRTI were tenofovir/emtricitabine [49 patients (25.5%)]. Eighty-nine (46.4%) patients started a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor and 77 (40.1%) individuals a NNRTI. Raltegravir and maraviroc were initiated in 24 (12.5%) and 9 (4.7%) individuals. Ten [5.21%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.53%-9.37%] patients presented grade 3 TE, while 8 (4.17%; 95%CI: 1.82%-8.04%) subjects showed grade 4 TBE. No episodes of grade 4 TE or ART discontinuation due to hepatotoxic events were observed. The use of ritonavir-boosted atazanavir was the only independent predictor for grade 4 TBE [adjusted odds ratio: 7.327 (95%CI: 1.417-37.89); p = 0.018] in an analysis adjusted for age, sex and baseline HIV-RNA levels, while no factor could be independently associated with grade 3-4 TE., Conclusions: Currently, the frequency of severe ART-associated TE and TBE under real-life conditions in patients with chronic viral hepatitis is similar to what has been reported previously. However, episodes of grade 4 TE are less frequent and severe TE appears to be of lesser concern.

Indigo blue dye is mainly used in dyeing of denim clothes and its presence in water bodies could have adverse effects on the aquatic system; for this reason, the objective of this study was to promote the removal of indigo blue dye from aqueous solutions by iron and copper electrochemically modified clay and activated carbon and the saturated materials were regenerated by a Fenton-like process. Montmorillonite clay was modified at pH 2 and 7; activated carbon at pH 2 and pH of the system. The elemental X-ray dispersive spectroscopy analysis showed that the optimum pH for modification of montmorillonite with iron and copper was 7 and for activated carbon was 2. The dye used in this work was characterized by infrared. Unmodified and modified clay samples showed the highest removal efficiencies of the dye (90-100%) in the pH interval from 2 to 10 whereas the removal efficiencies decrease as pH increases for samples modified at pH 2. Unmodified clay and copper-modified activated carbon at pH 2 were the most efficient activated materials for the removal of the dye. The adsorption kinetics data of all materials were best adjusted to the pseudo-second-order model, indicating a chemisorption mechanism and the adsorption isotherms data showed that the materials have a heterogeneous surface. The iron-modified clay could be regenerated by a photo-Fenton-like process through four adsorption-regeneration cycles, with 90% removal efficiency.

Background: Nitazoxanide (NTZ) plus pegylated interferon and ribavirin (Peg-IFN/RBV) improved the sustained virological response (SVR) achieved with Peg-IFN/RBV in hepatitis C virus genotype 4 (HCV-4)-monoinfected patients. There are no data currently on the efficacy of Peg-IFN/RBV plus NTZ for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV-4 coinfection. Therefore, the objectives of this clinical trial were to assess the efficacy and to evaluate the safety of Peg-IFN/RBV plus NTZ in HIV/HCV-4-coinfected patients., Patients and Methods: This was an open-label, single arm, multicenter phase II pilot clinical trial (NCT01529073) enrolling HIV-infected individuals with HCV-4 chronic infection, naïve to HCV therapy. Patients were treated with NTZ 500 mg bid for 4 weeks, followed by NTZ 500 mg bid plus Peg-IFN alpha-2b 1.5 μg/kg/week plus weight-adjusted RBV during 48 weeks. Analyses were done by intention-to-treat (ITT, missing = failure). A historical cohort of HIV/HCV-4-infected patients treated with Peg-IFN alpha-2b and RBV at the same area was used as control., Results: Two (9.5%) of 21 patients included in the trial compared with 5 (21.7%) of 23 patients included in the historical cohort achieved SVR (SVR risk difference, -12.2%; 95% confidence interval, -33.2% to 8.8%; p = 0.416). Virological failure was due to lack of response in 13 (62%) individuals recruited in the trial. Two (9.5%) patients included in the trial and two (9.5%) individuals from the historical cohort discontinued permanently due to adverse events., Conclusions: No increase in SVR was observed among HIV/HCV-4-coinfected patients receiving Peg-IFN/RBV plus NTZ compared with a historical cohort treated with Peg-IFN/RBV. Interruptions due to adverse events of Peg-IFN/RBV plus NTZ were similar to those of dual therapy., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01529073.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of ovine bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) on composition, proteose-peptone (p-p) content and casein fractions as indicating parameters for proteolysis and coagulating properties of milk. A total of 97 samples of bulk tank milk from Manchega breed ewe flocks were grouped according to somatic cell count (SCC) into four classes: fewer than 500,000 cells/ml, from 500,000 to 10,00000 cells/ml, from 10,00000 to 15,00000 and more than 15,00000 cells/ml. The casein : protein ratio and lactose content decreased with BTSCC. Proteolysis increased with BTSCC, causing a drop in β-casein and an increase in the γ-caseins from a concentration of 500,000 cells/ml. Regarding coagulation behaviour, the rennet clotting time (RCT) and firming time (k20) rose from 10,00000-15,00000 cells/ml of milk. The results showed that the impairment of milk quality and milk ability to make cheese as affected by intramammary infection (IMI) can be inferred from the bulk tank milk of flocks with poor udder health.

Introduction: Although hepatotoxicity related to antiretroviral treatment (ART) has become less frequent, hepatotoxic events, such as transaminase elevations (TE), are still a matter of concern. RPV/FTC/TDF (EPA) is a new single tablet regimen which is widely used in real life practice. Clinical trials showed an adequate profile of liver safety in the sub-population of HIV/HCV-coinfected patients receiving rilpivirine. However, the number of individuals included in these analyses is low (1). The aim of this ongoing study is to evaluate the incidence of TE and total bilirubin elevations (TBE) during the first 48 weeks of EPA-based therapy in a large population of HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects outside of clinical trials., Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects who started EPA at the infectious diseases units of 14 centres throughout Spain, included as cases. Subjects who started an ART different to EPA during the study period at the same hospitals were selected as controls. The primary outcome variables were grade 3 or 4 TE and grade 4 TBE., Results: Of the 191 patients included, 31 (16.2%) subjects were naïve to ART. Eighty-seven individuals started EPA and the remaining ones were controls. The most common NRTI backbone among the controls was TDF/FTC [59 (56.7%) patients] followed by NRTI-sparing regimens [24 (23.1%) individuals] and ABC/3TC [17 (16.3%) subjects]. Among controls, 67 (64.4%) started a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor, mainly DRV/r [41 (39.4%) patients] followed by ATV/r [16 (15.4%) subjects]. EFV, ETV and RAL were started in 16 (15.4%), 12 (11.5%) and 13 (12.5%) subjects, respectively. The median (Q1-Q3) follow-up was 5.79 (3.65-8.61) months for the cases and 11.44 (5.8-12.88) months for the controls. TE was observed in two (2.3%) cases versus five (4.8%) controls (p=0.358), accounting for a density of incidence of 4.32/100 person-years versus 5.51/100 person-years [incidence rate difference (95% confidence interval): -1.88 (-9.95-6.2), p=0.354]. All TE were grade 3 and no patient discontinued ART due to TE. None of the cases developed TBE versus four (3.8%) controls, all of them receiving ATV/r., Conclusions: The frequency of grade 3-4 TE associated with EPA in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients under real life conditions is very low. In addition, TE in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients treated with EPA are usually mild and do not lead to treatment discontinuation. TBE was not seen in patients taking EPA. All these data confirm that EPA is safe in this particular subpopulation.

Introduction: Monotherapy against HIV has undoubted theoretical advantages and has good scientific fundaments. However, it is still controversial and here we will analyze the efficacy and safety of MT with darunavir with ritonavir (DRV/r) on patients who have received this treatment in our hospitals., Materials and Methods: Observational retrospective study that includes patients from 10 Andalusian hospitals that have received DRV/r in MT and that have been followed over a minimum of 12 months. We carried out a statistical descriptive analysis based on the profile of patients who had been prescribed MT and the efficacy and safety that were observed, paying special attention to treatment failure and virological evolution., Results: DRV/r was prescribed to 604 patients, of which 41.1% had a CD4 nadir <200/mmc. 33.1% had chronic hepatitis caused by HCV, had received an average of five lines of previous treatment and had a history of treatment failure to analogues in 33%, to non-analogues 22 and protease inhibitors (PI) in 19.5%. 76.6% proceeded from a previous treatment with PI. The simplification was the main criteria for the instauration of MT in the 81.5% and the adverse effects in the 18.5%. We managed to maintain MT in 84% of cases, with only 4.8% of virological failure (VF) with viral load (VL) >200 c/mL and 3.6% additional losses due to VF with VL between 50 and 200 copies/mL. Thirty three genotypes were performed after failure without findings of resistance mutations to DRV/r or other IPs. Only 23.7% of patients presented some blips during the period of exposition to MT. Eighty seven percent of all determinations of VL had <50 copies/mL, and only 4.99% had >200 copies/mL. Although up to 14.9% registered at some point an AE, only 2.6% abandoned MT because of AE and 1.2% because of voluntary decision. Although the average of total and LDL cholesterol increases 10 mg/dL after 2 years of follow-up, so did HDL cholesterol in 3mg/dL and the values of triglycerides (-14 mg/dL) and GPT (-6 UI/mL) decreased. The average count of CD4 lymphocytes increased from 642 to 714/mm(3) at 24 weeks., Conclusions: In a very broad series of patients obtained from clinical practice, data from clinical trials was confirmed: MT with DRV as a de-escalation strategy is very safe, it's associated to a negligible rate of adverse effects and maintains a good suppression of HIV replication. VF (with >50 or >200 copies/mL) is always under 10% and in any case without consequences.

Objective: To compare the prognostic performance of liver biopsy with that of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) to predict survival and liver decompensations among HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected patients., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Methods: Cohort of 297 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients, who underwent a liver biopsy and LSM separated by 12 months or less, followed in 10 Spanish tertiary care centers from December 2005 to December 2011 (median follow-up, 5 years; interquartile range, 4.2-5.4 years). Liver biopsies were staged following the Scheuer's score. LSM was obtained by hepatic transient elastometry. A survival analysis was carried out and the integrated discrimination improvement was computed to compare the ability of the survival models to predict outcomes. The incidence of death from any cause and of development of the first decompensation of cirrhosis was calculated., Results: Overall mortality rate was 1.63 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-2.49] per 100 person-years. The adjusted hazard ratio [AHR (95% CI)] of baseline fibrosis (per stage of fibrosis) was 1.52 (1.08-2.15, P=0.017) and of LSM (per 5 kPa increase) 1.28 (1.12-1.46, P<0.001). LSM including models yielded a performance 3.9% better than the liver biopsy-based models (P=0.072). For the prediction of liver decompensations, the AHR (95% CI) of baseline fibrosis by liver biopsy (per stage of fibrosis) was 1.67 (1.15-2.43, P=0.007) and of LSM (per 5 kPa increase) 1.37 (1.21-1.54, P<0.001). LSM-based models yielded a performance 8.4% better than the liver biopsy-based models (P=0.045)., Conclusion: LSM-based prediction achieves a similar yield than liver biopsy-based models to predict overall mortality in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Models including LSM could predict better liver decompensations than liver biopsy.

An aetiopathogenetic analysis of non-endemic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in European and Southern American patient groups was performed. Specifically, the study sought to determine the proportion of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-positive tumour cells in NPC patients in two very different populations (Europe and South America) in areas not associated with a high incidence of NPC. Clinical data (age, sex and onset of clinical disease) were also analyzed. A total of 50 NPC samples, 24 from a European hospital (EH) and 26 from two South American hospitals (SAH), were included. Nuclear staining for Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small RNA (EBER) was performed by in situ hybridization (ISH). Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) expression was measured by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. A higher incidence of NPC was observed in patients > 40 years of age in EH; in SAH, by contrast, the incidence was higher in patients aged ≤ 40 years. Cervical lymph node metastasis was detected in 31 patients (of whom 84.6% were from SAH). A total of 72% of samples were EBERpositive; the incidence of EBER positivity was greater in type 3 NPCs. EBV was detected in a large proportion of epithelial cells in samples from both EH and SAH (75% vs. 69.2%, respectively). An association was found between EBER detection in lymphocytes and patient origin (p = 0.0001). LMP1 expression was detected in 64% of patients. ISH for the detection of EBER is the most sensitive technique for demonstrating EBV in tumour tissue. The incidence of EBV was not significantly greater in either of the study populations, but was significantly higher in patients with type 3 NPC. Definitive histological diagnosis of NPC was reached earlier in EH than in SAH, where metastases were more frequently diagnosed, suggesting that the disease had reached a more advanced stage by the time treatment was started.

Background: Ribavirin (RBV) exposure seems to be critical to maximize treatment response in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection., Methods: HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals naive to interferon were prospectively randomized to receive peginterferon-α-2a (180 μg/d) plus either RBV standard dosing (1000 or 1200 mg/d if <75 or ≥ 75 kg, respectively) or RBV induction (2000 mg/d) along with subcutaneous erythropoietin β (450 IU/kg/wk), both during the first 4 weeks, followed by standard RBV dosing until completion of therapy. Early stopping rules at weeks 12 and 24 were applied in patients with suboptimal virological response., Results: A total of 357 patients received ≥ 1 dose of the study medication. No differences in main baseline characteristics were found when comparing treatment arms. Sustained virological response (SVR) was attained by 160 (45%) patients, with no significant differences between RBV induction and standard treatment arms (SVR in 72 of 169 patients [43%] vs 88 of 188 [47%], respectively). At week 4, undetectable HCV RNA (29% vs 25%) and mean RBV trough concentration (2.48 vs 2.14 μg/mL) were comparable in both arms, whereas mean hemoglobin decay was less pronounced in the RBV induction plus erythropoietin arm than in the RBV standard dosing arm (-1.7 vs -2.3 mg/dL; P < .005). Treatment discontinuation occurred in 91 (25%) patients owing to nonresponse and in 29 (8%) owing to adverse events. HCV relapse occurred in 34 patients (10%). Univariate and multivariate analyses identified HCV genotype 2 or 3 (odds ratio [OR], 10.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.08-50.2; P = .004), IL28B CC variants (OR, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.33-6.41; P = .007), nonadvanced liver fibrosis (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.06-5.01; P = .03), and rapid virological response (OR, 40.3; 95% CI, 5.1-314.1; P < .001) as predictors of SVR., Conclusions: A 4-week course of induction therapy with high RBV dosing along with erythropoietin does not improve SVR rates in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Preemptive erythropoietin might blunt the benefit of RBV overdosing by enhancing erythrocyte uptake of plasma RBV.

Introduction: In 2006 the Spanish Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Pathology (SEQC) and the Spanish Society of Nephrology (S.E.N.) developed a consensus document in order to facilitate the diagnosis and monitoring of chronic kidney disease with the incorporation of equations for estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) into laboratory reports. The current national prevalence of eGFR reporting and the degree of adherence to these recommendations among clinical laboratories is unknown., Methods: We administered a national survey in 2010-11 to Spanish clinical laboratories. The survey was through e-mail or telephone to laboratories that participated in the SEQC&rsquo;s Programme for External Quality Assurance, included in the National Hospitals Catalogue 2010, including both primary care and private laboratories., Results: A total of 281 laboratories answered to the survey. Of these, 88.2% reported on the eGFR, with 61.9% reporting on the MDRD equation and 31.6% using the MDRD-IDMS equation. A total of 42.5% of laboratories always reported serum creatinine values, and other variables only when specifically requested. Regarding the way results were presented, 46.2% of laboratories reported the exact numerical value only when the filtration rate was below 60mL/min/1.73m2, while 50.6% reported all values regardless. In 56.3% of the cases reporting eGFR, an interpretive commentary of it was enclosed., Conclusions: Although a high percentage of Spanish laboratories have added eGFR in their reports, this metric is not universally used. Moreover, some aspects, such as the equation used and the correct expression of eGFR results, should be improved.

Introduction: The identification and validation of biomarkers of chemotherapy sensitivity is critical in order to individualise therapy in breast cancer. We evaluated pathological complete response (pCR) to GAT, and its correlation with tumour biomarkers before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy., Materials and Methods: Stage III (and stage II with T≥5 cm) breast cancer patients were included. Treatment consisted of adriamycin (40 mg/m(2)) day 1, and paclitaxel (150 mg/ m(2)) followed by gemcitabine (2000 mg/m(2)) day 2, every 14 days for six cycles. Tissue from pre-treatment biopsy and surgery was evaluated for biologic markers by immunohistochemistry. Two XPD single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were also analysed., Results: Forty-six patients entered the trial. Median age was 49.5 years (range 31-72); 25 patients (54%) were pre-menopausal; 12 (26%) were ER-PgR-negative; pCR was observed in 17% (95% CI: 6.4-28.4) of patients. Significant differences in marker expression (mean±SD) in correlation to pathological response were only found in Ki- 67. After treatment, tumours showed lower Ki-67-, surviving- and pERK-positive cells. No correlation between XPD polymorphisms and pCR was found. The overall response rate was 89% (95% CI: 80.1-98.1). Fifteen patients (33%) underwent breast-conserving surgery. The most frequent grade 3 or 4 toxicities were neutropenia (with one febrile neutropenia) and asthenia., Conclusion: These results show an effective regimen with acceptable tolerability. Our data suggest that not only classical markers (ER, Ki-67), but also survivin and pERK could be involved in the response to GAT, which may contribute to therapy individualisation in future study designs.

Fe-Cu and Fe-Ni nanoscale oxides and their carbonaceous composites (C/Fe-Cu and C/Fe-Ni, 75/25 wt.%; C/Fe-Cu and C/Fe-Ni 95/5 wt.%), made from pyrolysis of sewage sludge, have been evaluated to remove remazol yellow textile dye from aqueous solution. The kinetic and sorption isotherms experimental results were best fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm models, which indicates that the sorption mechanism may be chemisorption onto heterogeneous surfaces. Fe-Ni and Fe-Cu nanoscale oxides adsorption capacities were 157.8 mg/g and 117.6 mg/g, resulting in nearly 83% and 70% of dye removal, respectively, using 100 mg/L of initial dyestuff concentration and 10 mg of each material. The adsorption capacities of Fe-Cu, Fe-Ni oxides and C/FCu 75/25%, C/Fe-Ni 75/25% composites provide better results at pH between 3 and 5. In addition, three sorption-desorption cycles using 30% H2O2 solution and distilled water were performed: sorption efficiencies for all materials decreased after each cycle; nevertheless, Fe-Cu and Fe-Ni nanoscale oxides were the best materials for the removal of remazol yellow dye.

Introduction: Acute renal failure (ARF) occurs in 12%-20% of all multiple myeloma (MM) cases, and the survival of these patients depends on renal function recovery. Renal function is not recovered in 75% of dialysis-dependent patients, and their mean survival with replacement therapy is less than one year. Renal tubular disease is the most frequent cause of renal failure. It is present in more than 55% of renal failure cases and in 75% of those requiring dialysis. Rapid reduction of free light chain levels in the blood is necessary in order to recover renal function. One coadjuvant measure in treating the disease is reducing light chain levels with plasmapheresis, but its efficacy has not yet been clearly proven. Our proposal was therefore to use extended haemodialysis sessions with high cut-off dialysers (HCO-HD), obtaining a recovery rate of more than 60%. We present the progress of 6 patients with myeloma and acute renal failure who were treated with HCO-HD and the complications associated with using this type of haemodialysis. Then, we review the pros and cons of this technique., Method: Six patients diagnosed with MM and ARF requiring dialysis and with serum free light chain levels above 500 mg/l were treated with 8-hour haemodialysis sessions with an HCO-HD filter. Before and after each session, serum free light chain levels were measured by nephelometry; other parameters were recorded as well. At the same time, patients underwent chemotherapy according to protocols., Results: The symptom onset times of the 3 men and 3 women diagnosed with MM and ARF were highly variable, from 7 days to more than 1 year. We performed 90 extended sessions with HCO-HD filters, and each patient underwent between 6 and 40 sessions. Free light chain levels decreased by a mean of 65% between treatment onset and completion, except in one patient who experienced a 12.6% reduction. The mean percentage of reduction of light chain levels per session was 54.98% ± 17.27%. A complication occurred during 28% of the sessions. Of these complications, 48% were due to system coagulation. There were no major changes in pre-dialysis albumin, calcium, phosphorous or magnesium levels, although lower values that were not clinically relevant were recorded in one case. Renal function was recovered in 3 patients, they are alive and dialysis-free. In biopsied cases that recovered renal function, the specimen showed tubular nephropathy only. Those patients who took longer to be diagnosed did not recover their renal function, and when biopsied, they were diagnosed with renal tubular disease and light chain deposition disease., Conclusion: We found extended haemodialysis with HCO-HD filters to be a reasonable alternative in ARF caused by renal tubular disease, and achieved a recovery rate of 50% in our cases. Function recovery was influenced by the elapsed time between symptom onset and myeloma diagnosis, histological findings, promptness of starting chemotherapy, response to chemotherapy, and effectiveness of light chain extraction. In any case, further studies are needed to examine new chemotherapy agents and new direct free light chain removal techniques.