Evaluación de la satisfacción de los usuarios que consultan a los servicios de cuatro centros de salud de Primer Nivel de Atención (PNA) de interés, con respecto a la calidad de la atención proporcionada por dichos servicios durante el año 2017 / Evaluation of the satisfaction of users who consult the services of four health centers of First Level of Care (PNA) of interest, with respect to the quality of care provided by said services during the year 2017

Actualmente, existe un mayor interés por evaluar la satisfacción de los usuarios, con respecto a los servicios de salud y ello se ha convertido en un instrumento de valor creciente. A través de la opinión del usuario es posible obtener un conjunto de conceptos y actitudes asociados en relación con la atención recibida, con los cuales se adquiere información que beneficia a la organización otorgante de los servicios de salud, a los prestadores directos y a los usuarios mismos en sus necesidades y expectativas. El objetivo general del estudio es Evaluar la satisfacción de los usuarios que consultan a los servicios de cuatro centros de salud de PNA de interés, con respecto a la calidad de la atención proporcionada por dichos servicios durante el año 2017. Participaron del estudio los usuarios mayores de 20 a 65 años de edad que consultan en el año 2017de salud de los Centros de Salud N°15, 41, 49 y 55 de la zona norte de la ciudad de Salta, siendo un total de 676 encuestas contestas. Se utilizó una encuesta realizada por una consultora especializada en la temática, el modelo conocido como SERVQUAL modificada, este modelo conceptual, presenta 22 ítems evaluados en una escala de Likert de 7 puntos. Hasta la fecha, no se han realizado en la provincia de Salta este tipo de estudios, los cuales permitirían tomar decisiones asertivas, mejorar la gestión de los servicios que se presta e impactar en la eficiencia, en los gastos y los costos en salud de la población

Adenovirus vector vaccination induces expansion of memory CD4 T cells with a mucosal homing phenotype that are readily susceptible to HIV-1.

In the recently halted HIV type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine STEP trial, individuals that were seropositive for adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) showed increased rates of HIV-1 infection on vaccination with an Ad5 vaccine. We propose that this was due to activation and expansion of Ad5-specific mucosal-homing memory CD4 T cells. To test this hypothesis, Ad5 and Ad11 antibody titers were measured in 20 healthy volunteers. Dendritic cells (DCs) from these individuals were pulsed with replication defective Ad5 or Ad11 and co-cultured with autologous lymphocytes. Cytokine profiles, proliferative capacity, mucosal migration potential, and susceptibility to HIV infection of the adenovirus-stimulated memory CD4 T cells were measured. Stimulation of T cells from healthy Ad5-seropositive but Ad11-seronegative individuals with Ad5, or serologically distinct Ad11 vectors induced preferential expansion of adenovirus memory CD4 T cells expressing alpha(4)beta(7) integrins and CCR9, indicating a mucosal-homing phenotype. CD4 T-cell proliferation and IFN-gamma production in response to Ad stimulation correlated with Ad5 antibody titers. However, Ad5 serostatus did not correlate with total cytokine production upon challenge with Ad5 or Ad11. Expanded Ad5 and Ad11 memory CD4 T cells showed an increase in CCR5 expression and higher susceptibility to infection by R5 tropic HIV-1. This suggests that adenoviral-based vaccination against HIV-1 in individuals with preexisting immunity against Ad5 results in preferential expansion of HIV-susceptible activated CD4 T cells that home to mucosal tissues, increases the number of virus targets, and leads to a higher susceptibility to HIV acquisition.

Why is it so difficult to construct Q(i) site mutants in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii?

The cytochrome b(6)f complex catalyses electron transfer from plastoquinol to a hydrosoluble acceptor (plastocyanin), while building up an electrochemical proton gradient. Oxidation and reduction of plastoquinol occur respectively at the Q(o) site (exposed on the luminal side of the thylakoid membrane) and at the Q(i) site (facing the stroma). The discovery of an additional c'-type heme in the Q(i) site has cast a new light on the difficulties previously encountered to obtain mutants at this site. In this work, we critically examine our unsuccessful attempts to obtain Q(i) site mutants based on sequence and structure homology between cytochrome b(6)f and bc(1) complexes.

Production and certification of four frozen human serum certified reference materials containing creatinine and electrolytes.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the preparation, analysis and certification of four frozen human serum certified reference materials (CRMs) containing creatinine and the electrolytes calcium, lithium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. These materials have been prepared to give concentrations of these analytes that cover the currently accepted analytical range. METHODS: The analysis of the materials for certification purposes has been carried out using methodology traceable to primary standards, and which is acceptable as a reference method. The certification methods include liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) with exact-matching isotope dilution calibration (EM-IDMS) for creatinine, inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), ICP-MS and isotope-dilution inductively-coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ID-ICP-MS) for the electrolytes. RESULTS: The uncertainties estimated for these certified values include a component from the characterization measurements, as well as contributions from possible inhomogeneity and long-term instability. The certified values have been corroborated by measurements obtained in a major UK External Quality Assessment scheme, which have, with the exception of the determination of creatinine at a particularly low concentration, given excellent agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The materials are intended for use by pathology laboratories and manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) kits for validation of existing routine methodology to a traceable standard, which will promote harmonization between the different methods, instruments and IVD kits used in these laboratories.

Multiple and simultaneous fluorophore detection using fluorescence spectrometry and partial least-squares regression with sample-specific confidence intervals.

Fluorescent labeling is widely used in biological and chemical analysis, and the drive for increased throughput is stretching multiplexing capabilities to the limit. The limiting factor in multiplexed analyses is the ability to subsequently deconvolute the signals. Consequently, alternative approaches for interpreting complex data sets are required to allow individual components to be identified. Here we have investigated the application of a novel approach to multiplexed analysis that does not rely on multivariate curve resolution to achieve signal deconvolution. The approach calculates a sample-specific confidence interval for a multivariate (partial least-squares regression (PLSR)) prediction, thereby enabling the estimation of the presence or absence of each fluorophore based on the total spectral signal. This approach could potentially be applied to any multiplexed measurement system and has the advantage over the current algorithm-based methods that the requirement for resolution of spectral peaks is not central to the method. Here, PLSR was used to obtain the concentrations for up to eight dye-labeled oligonucleotides at levels of (0.6-5.3) x 10(-6) M. The sample-specific prediction intervals show good discrimination for the presence/absence of seven of the eight labeled oligonucleotides with efficiencies ranging from approximately 91 to 100%.

Progressing single biomolecule force spectroscopy measurements for the screening of DNA binding agents.

Recent studies have indicated that the force-extension properties of single molecules of double stranded (ds) DNA are sensitive to the presence of small molecule DNA binding agents, and also to their mode of binding. These observations raise the possibility of using this approach as a highly sensitive tool for the screening of such agents. However, particularly for studies employing the atomic force microscope (AFM), several non-trivial barriers hinder the progress of this approach to the non-specialist arena and hence also the full realization of this possibility. In this paper, we therefore address a series of key reproducibility and metrological issues associated with this type of measurement. Specifically, we present an improved immobilization method that covalently anchors one end (5' end) of a dual labelled (5'-thiol, 3'-biotin) p53 DNA molecule onto a gold substrate via gold-thiol chemistry, whilst the biotinylated 3' end is available for 'pick-up' using a streptavidin modified AFM tip. We also show that co-surface immobilization of DNA with 6-mercapto-1-hexanol (MCH) can also lead to a further increase the measured contour length. We demonstrate the impact of these improved protocols through the observation of the cooperative transition plateau in a DNA fragment of approximately 118 bp, a significantly smaller fragment than previously investigated. The results of a comparative study of the effects of a model minor groove binder (Hoechst 33258) and an intercalating drug (proflavine), alone, as a mixture and under different buffer conditions, are also presented.

SERRS as a more sensitive technique for the detection of labelled oligonucleotides compared to fluorescence.

This communication contains data from a comparison between the detection limits obtained using surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) and fluorescence detection of dye labelled oligonucleotides. The results show that the detection limits for SERRS are generally at least three orders of magnitude lower than those obtained for fluorescence.

Rapid, noninvasive screening for perturbations of metabolism and plant growth using chlorophyll fluorescence imaging.

A rapid, noninvasive technique involving imaging of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters for detecting perturbations of leaf metabolism and growth in seedlings is described. Arabidopsis seedlings were grown in 96-well microtitre plates for 4 d and then treated with eight herbicides with differing modes of action to induce perturbations in a range of different metabolic processes. Imaging of chlorophyll fluorescence emissions from 96 seedlings growing on a microtitre plate enabled images of a number of fluorescence parameters to be rapidly and simultaneously produced for the plants in each well. Herbicideinduced perturbations in metabolism, even in metabolic reactions not directly associated with photosynthetic metabolism, were detected from the changes in the images of fluorescence parameters considerably before any visual effects on seedling growth were observed. Evaluations of seedling growth were made from measurements of the area of chlorophyll fluorescence emission in images of plants growing in the 96-well plates. Decreased seedling growth related directly to herbicideinduced changes in the imaged chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. The applicability of this rapid-screening technique for metabolic perturbations in monocotyledonous species was demonstrated by treating Agrostis tenuis seedlings with Imazapyr, an inhibitor of branched-chain amino acid synthesis.