Uso de la Biblioteca Virtual de Salud de Cuba en Villa Clara / Use of the Cuban Virtual Health Library in Villa Clara

En la actualidad la capacidad de distinguir cuáles son las fuentes que brindan una información confiable es la herramienta más importante para los investigadores. Por tanto, es necesario profundizar en el uso de fuentes de información veraz y actualizada, y la importancia de evaluarlas. Esta problemática toma mayor fuerza en el área de la salud, por lo que las instituciones en cuestión, se han proyectado en este tipo de estudio. Tal es el caso del Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara, que se propuso evaluar el uso de la Biblioteca Virtual de Salud de Cuba por los bibliotecarios de la red de bibliotecas médicas de la provincia, cuyo objetivo fundamental es satisfacer las necesidades de sus usuarios.

Currently, the ability to distinguish which sources provide reliable information is the most important tool for researchers. Therefore, it is necessary to deepen the use of truthful and updated information sources, and the importance of evaluating them. This problem takes greater importance in the health area, that is why the institutions in question have been projected in this type of study. Such is the case of the Provincial Information Center for Medical Sciences from Villa Clara, which proposed to evaluate the use of the Cuban Virtual Health Library by the librarians of the network of medical libraries in the province, whose fundamental objective is to satisfy the needs of its users.

Is ranitidine necessary as premedication for regimens containing paclitaxel? A non-inferiority study.

BACKGROUND: Histamine type-2-receptor antagonist drugs (H2-antagonists) have been used as standard treatment to prevent hypersensitivity reactions (HRs) in paclitaxel-containing regimens, however, their use has been strongly questioned. Ranitidine has been the most widely used H2-antagonist. Therefore, especially after its withdrawal from the market, the objective of this study is to determine the impact of its elimination from premedication on HR incidence. METHODS: A cohort, multicenter, observational, prospective, and non-inferiority study, including paclitaxel-naïve cancer patients, designed to determine the incidence of HRs of any grade associated with paclitaxel administration and analyze non-inferiority against the incidence estimated in the literature (20%), with 5% as the maximum difference (Δ). Patients with a solid neoplasm of any type/stage, who initiated treatment with paclitaxel without H2-antagonists in the premedication regimen were enrolled. RESULTS: A total of 441 patients were included, of whom 50 presented 54 HRs of any grade. The cumulative incidence was 11.3% (95%CI 8.5-14.7), thus fulfilling the hypothesis of non-inferiority. Of the overall HRs detected, 15 were grade ≥ 3 with a cumulative incidence of 3.4% (95%CI 1.9-5.5). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the elimination of ranitidine from paclitaxel premedication schedules is non-inferior in the development of HRs of any grade compared to the administration of H2-antagonists.

Digital and Interactive Health Interventions Minimize the Physical and Psychological Impact of Breast Cancer, Increasing Women's Quality of Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Digital and interactive health interventions (DIHIs), such as virtual-reality-based therapy (VRBT) and smartphone-app-based therapy (SABT), may be useful for reducing the impact of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer (BC) in women. The aim of this meta-analysis was to explore the effect of DIHIs on improving pain, anxiety, depression, quality of life (QoL), and upper extremity (UE) disability-related lymphedema in women with BC. METHODS: We searched PubMed Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and SciELO for the period ending February 2022. We included studies that assessed the effect of DIHIs on UE motor disability, pain, anxiety, depression, and QoL in women with BC. The effect size was calculated using Cohen's standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI). RESULTS: Twenty studies providing data from 1613 women with BC were included. With respect to UE disability, DIHIs increased flexion (SMD, 1.92; 95%CI: -1.16, 2.68), abduction (SMD, 1.66; 95%CI: 0.91, 2.42), external rotation shoulder range of motion (SMD, 1.1; 95%CI: 0.36, 1.85), UE function (SMD, -0.72; 95%CI: -1.31, -0.13), and handgrip strength (SMD, 0.4; 95%CI: 0.21, 0.59). DIHIs reduced pain (SMD, -0.8; 95%CI: -1.31, -0.26), anxiety (SMD, -1.02; 95%CI: -1.71, -0.34), and depression (SMD, -1.57; 95%CI: -3.1, -0.08). Finally, DIHIs increased overall health (SMD, 0.6; 95%CI: 0.31, 0.89). CONCLUSIONS: Right at the end of therapy, DIHIs are effective at improving UE function, pain, anxiety, depression, and QoL in women with BC. VRBT has a greater effect than SABT for the assessed outcomes.

Metagenomics Bioinformatic Pipeline.

Microbial communities' taxonomic and functional diversity has been broadly studied since sequencing technologies enabled faster and cheaper data obtainment. Nevertheless, the programming skills needed and the amount of software available may be overwhelming to someone trying to analyze these data. Here, we present a comprehensive and straightforward pipeline that takes shotgun metagenomics data through the needed steps to obtain valuable results. The raw data goes through a quality control process, metagenomic assembly, binning (the obtention of single genomes from a metagenome), taxonomic assignment, and taxonomic diversity analysis and visualization.

Pediatric Chagas disease in the non-endemic area of Madrid: A fifteen-year review (2004-2018).

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease (CD) has become an emerging global health problem in association with the immigration of individuals from endemic areas (in LatinAmerica) to other countries.Spain is the country in Europe with the highest number of CD cases. Concerning pediatric CD, treatment is not only better tolerated by younger children but also has greater cure possibilities. The aim of this study was to describe clinical and epidemiological aspects of CD in a pediatric population diagnosed of 10 hospitals in the Community of Madrid during the 2004-2018 period, as well as the safety and efficacy of CD treatment on this population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A multicenter, retrospective, descriptive study was conducted. The studied population included all identified children under the age of 18 with a diagnosis of CD. Diagnosis was performed with a positive parasitological test (with subsequent confirmation) or confirmed persistence of positive serology beyond 9 months, for children younger than one year-old, and with two different positive serological tests, for children older than one. Fifty-one children were included (59% male; 50.9% born in Spain). All mothers were from Latin America. The median age at diagnosis was 0.7 months for those under one year of age, and 11.08 years for those older than one year-old. Only one case presented a symptomatic course (hydrops faetalis, haemodynamic instability at birth, ascites, anaemia). For 94% treatment was completed. Considering patients who received benznidazole (47), AE were recorded in 48,9%. Among the 32 patients older than one year-old treated with benznidazole, 18 (56.25%) had adverse events whereas in the 15 under one year, 5(33,3%) did. Eigtheen (78.2%) of the patients with benznidazole AE were older than one year-old(median age 11.4 years). Of the patients treated with nifurtimox (9), AE were reported in 3 cases (33,3%). Cure was confirmed in 80% of the children under one year-old vs 4.3% in those older (p<0.001). Loss to follow- up occurred in 35.3% of patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCES: Screening programs of CD since birth allow early diagnosis and treatment, with a significantly higher cure rate in children treated before one year of age, with lower incidence of adverse events. The high proportion of patients lost to follow-up in this vulnerable population is of concern.

Comparison Between Real-time Ammonium and pH Measurement, Immunohistochemistry, and Histochemistry for the Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection has been implicated in several malignant and nonmalignant conditions. The confirmatory diagnosis of HP requires an endoscopic biopsy, followed by a rapid urease test, culture, and/or histopathologic examination using hemotoxylin and eosin, histochemical stains, or immunohistochemistry against HP. EndoFaster is a novel device that can perform real-time ammonium and pH measurements in gastric juice, allowing a diagnosis of HP during gastroduodenal endoscopy. GOAL: This study aimed to validate the accuracy of EndoFaster and to compare different histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques for the diagnosis of HP infection. STUDY: Consecutive patients who underwent upper endoscopy at our center were prospectively enrolled. During the endoscopy procedure, gastric juice was aspirated to perform an automatic analysis by EndoFaster and gastric biopsies were taken. Histologic sections were reviewed to assess the histopathologic features. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated for the EndoFaster test, Diff-Quick (DQ), and immunohistochemistry against HP (anti-HP) using Warthin-Starry as the gold standard for HP detection. RESULTS: Overall, 80 patients were enrolled. In 19 cases (23,75%), histology was normal. In the remaining cases, varying degrees of inflammation were found. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 73.33%, 86.00%, 75.86%, and 84.31% for the EndoFaster test using 67 ppm/mL as the positive threshold; 73.33%, 100%, 100%, and 86.21% for DQ; and 79.31%, 88.00%, 79.31%, and 88.00% for anti-HP, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The EndoFaster test has good sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of HP during the gastroscopy procedure. DQ and anti-HP are excellent alternatives to Warthin-Starry for the detection of HP.

Predictibilidad en el diagnóstico utilizando Watson de IBM / Predictability in diagnostics using IBM Watson / Previsibilidade em diagnósticos usando IBM Watson

El presente estudio trata sobre una revisión documental relacionada con la predictibilidad en el diagnóstico utilizando Watson de IBM, el cual tiene como objetivo principal conocer el nivel de predictibilidad en el diagnóstico con Watson de IMB se ha utilizado un diseño no experimental de corte cualitativo donde las técnicas de recolección de datos han sido la revisión documental y el análisis de datos provenientes de estudios realizados por expertos que validan el uso de este tipo de tecnología, de acuerdo a los documentos consultados y en función de la opinión de los expertos se puede referir que la hipótesis planteada "el conocer el nivel de predictibilidad en el diagnóstico utilizando Watson de IMB contribuye a su implementación en el diagnóstico de enfermedades de orden oncológico" se cumple y como parte de algunas de las conclusiones las cuales refiere que el uso de este tipo de tecnología aporta a la prontitud en la generación de diagnósticos más certeros y con un nivel de predictibilidad media ­ alta, al igual que es una oportunidad para el trabajo colaborativo entre profesionales de la salud y representa la necesidad imperante de actualizar sus conocimientos para proporcionar datos de calidad que faciliten una mayor predictibilidad del diagnóstico

The present study deals with a documentary review related to the predictability in the diagnosis using IBM Watson, which has as its main objective to know the level of predictability in the diagnosis with IBM Watson. a qualitative non-experimental design has been used where the data collection techniques have been the documentary review and the analysis of data from studies conducted by experts who validate the use of this type of technology, according to the documents consulted and based on the opinion of the experts, it can be stated that the hypothesis knowing the level of predictability in the diagnosis with Watson IMB contributes to its implementation in the diagnosis of oncological diseases is fulfilled and as part of some of the conclusions it is stated that the use of this type of technology contributes to the promptness in the generation of more accurate diagnoses and with a medium-high level of predictability, It is also an opportunity for collaborative work among health professionals and represents the imperative need to update their knowledge in order to provide quality data that facilitate greater diagnostic predictability

O presente estudo trata de uma revisão documental relacionada à previsibilidade no diagnóstico com o Watson da IBM, cujo objetivo principal é conhecer o nível de previsibilidade no diagnóstico com o Watson do IMB. Utilizou-se um desenho qualitativo não experimental onde foi utilizado. as técnicas de coleta de dados foram a revisão documental e a análise de dados de estudos realizados por especialistas que validam o uso desse tipo de tecnologia, de acordo com os documentos consultados e com base na opinião dos especialistas, pode-se referir que o hipótese levantada conhecer o nível de previsibilidade no diagnóstico com o Watson do IMB contribui para sua implementação no diagnóstico de doenças oncológicas é atendida e faz parte de algumas das conclusões que referem que o uso deste tipo de tecnologia contribui para a prontidão na geração de diagnósticos mais precisos e com um nível de pré ditabilidade média-alta, pois é uma oportunidade de trabalho colaborativo entre os profissionais de saúde e representa a necessidade predominante de atualização de conhecimentos para fornecer dados de qualidade que possibilitem maior previsibilidade do diagnóstico.

Evaluación de la gestión de información en programas priorizados de salud en Villa Clara / Assessment of information management in the prioritized health programs in Villa Clara

RESUMEN Introducción: entre las principales estrategias de trabajo del Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba se encuentran los programas proyectados a solucionar los problemas de salud existentes a nivel nacional e internacional, los cuales requieren cada día de un mayor sustento científico. Objetivos: evaluar la gestión de información realizada para el desarrollo de los programas priorizados de salud en la provincia de Villa Clara. Métodos: se determinaron los indicadores para evaluar la pertinencia, factibilidad y efectividad de la gestión de información en función de los programas priorizados de salud de la provincia. Se utilizó el modelo de Stuffebeam que considera cuatro aspectos: contexto, diseño, proceso y producto. Se aplicó una encuesta y entrevista a los especialistas. Resultados: como principal resultado científico se logró evaluar la pertinencia, factibilidad y eficiencia de la gestión de información en la aplicación de los programas priorizados de salud de la provincia, y los niveles de competencia y desempeño de los funcionarios y especialistas. Conclusiones: la evaluación de la gestión de información en función de mejorar el desarrollo de los programas priorizados de salud de la provincia contribuyó a evidenciar el papel de la información científica actualizada en la calidad de los resultados alcanzados, y los niveles de preparación de los especialistas y directivos que conducen esta actividad.

ABSTRACT Introduction: programs designed to solve the existing health problems at the national and international levels are among the main work strategies of the Ministry of Public Health in Cuba, which require a greater scientific support every day. Objectives: to evaluate the management of information carried out for the development of the prioritized health programs in Villa Clara province. Methods: indicators were determined to assess the relevance, feasibility and effectiveness of information management according to the province's prioritized health programs. Stuffebeam's model was used considering four aspects: context, design, process and product. A survey and an interview were also applied to the specialists. Results: the relevance, feasibility and efficiency of information management in the application of the prioritized health programs of the province was assessed as the main scientific result, as well as, the levels of competence and performance of users and specialists. Conclusions: the evaluation of information management in order to improve the development of the prioritized health programs of the province helped to highlight the role of up-to-date scientific information in the quality of the results achieved, and the levels of preparation of the specialists and managers who conduct this activity.

Gestión de información para el desarrollo de los programas priorizados de salud en Villa Clara / Information management for the development of prioritized health programs in Villa Clara

RESUMEN En la historia de la humanidad la información ha sido un recurso de poder. Actualmente el desarrollo de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones demanda de los profesionales de la información formar sujetos como usuarios inteligentes, lo que tributa un incremento de la calidad científica. Es objetivo de los autores profundizar en el tema por la necesidad de gestionar información sobre las estrategias de trabajo del Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba, cuyos programas están proyectados a dar solución a los principales problemas de salud existentes en el país, los cuales requieren cada día mayor sustento científico; por otra parte, la evaluación de la gestión de información constituye un valioso instrumento para evidenciar los niveles de preparación de los especialistas y directivos que conducen esta actividad y del rol de la información científica en la calidad de los resultados alcanzados.

ABSTRACT In the history of humanity, information has been a resource of power. Currently, the development of information and communication technologies demands that information professionals form subjects as intelligent users, which increases scientific quality. The objective of the authors is to deepen the topic by the need to manage information on the work strategies of the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba, whose programs are projected to solve the main health problems in the country, which require each day greater scientific foundations; on the other hand, the evaluation of information management is a valuable tool to demonstrate the levels of preparation of the specialists and managers who carry out this activity and the role of scientific information in the quality of the results achieved.

Productividad científica de la revista CorSalud: visibilidad a través de Google Académico / Scientific productivity of CorSalud journal: Visibility through Google Scholar

RESUMEN Introducción: Las publicaciones científicas son el soporte por excelencia para divulgar las investigaciones de científicos y profesionales. La bibliometría es un instrumento esencial que permite valorar los resultados de las investigaciones publicadas en las revistas científicas. Objetivos: Describir la producción científica de la revista CorSalud, a través de diferentes indicadores bibliométricos. Método: Estudio descriptivo, longitudinal y retrospectivo que evaluó los artículos publicados en el período 2009-2016. Se tuvo en cuenta la productividad por años, países, autores; artículos producidos/citados, porcentaje de endogamia, autores ocasionales o transitorios, índice de transitoriedad, distribución de los autores según su productividad, autores más citados, índice h, instituciones productoras, tipología de artículos y palabras clave. Resultados: Se publicaron 388 artículos, el 2013 fue el año más productivo y citado, el autor más productivo fue Francisco Luis Moreno Martínez (19 contribuciones), el 90,7% de las publicaciones son de autores cubanos, 137 son transitorios para un índice de transitoriedad del 35,3%, el 97% son pequeños productores, el índice h es escaso, la mayor contribución de artículos fue del Cardiocentro Ernesto Che Guevara, el 29% fueron trabajos originales y las palabras clave más empleadas: Infarto agudo de miocardio, Hipertensión, Angioplastia y Ecocardiografía, entre otras. Conclusiones: Existe una estabilidad en el número de trabajos publicados por año, con prevalencia de los originales, tendencia al aumento de artículos nacionales sobre los internacionales, y alta tasa de endogamia. Los indicadores bibliométricos estudiados indican la presencia de una estabilidad en el proceso editorial y aumento en la calidad de la publicación.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Scientific publications are the best way to disseminate research by scientists and professionals. Bibliometrics is an essential tool that allows to evaluate the results of research published in scientific journals. Objectives: To describe the scientific production of CorSalud journal, using different bibliometric indicators. Method: Descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study that evaluated the articles published in the period 2009-2016. Productivity was taken into account by years, countries, authors; articles produced/cited, percentage of inbreeding, occasional or transient authors, transience index, authors' distribution according to productivity, most cited authors, h index, producing institutions, type of articles and keywords. Results: Three hundred eighty-eight articles were published. Year 2013 was the most productive and cited of all. The most productive author was Francisco Luis Moreno Martínez (19 contributions). A 90.7% of publications are by Cuban authors, 137 are transient for a transience index of 35.3%; 97% are small producers. H index is scarce. The greatest contribution of articles was from the Cardiocentro Ernesto Che Guevara, 29% were original works. Most used keywords were: Acute myocardial infarction, Hypertension, Angioplasty and Echocardiography, among others. Conclusions: The total number of papers per year remains quite stable with prevalence of original articles. National papers tend to prevail over international ones and there is a high inbreeding rate. The bibliometric indicators studied demonstrate stability in the editorial process and an increase in the quality of publications.

A Calpain-Like Protein Is Involved in the Execution Phase of Programmed Cell Death of Entamoeba histolytica.

Oxygen or nitrogen oxidative species and chemical stress induce the programmed cell death (PCD) of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites. PCD caused by the aminoglycoside G418 is reduced by incubation with the cysteine protease inhibitor E-64; however, no typical caspases or metacaspases have been detected in this parasite. Calpain, a cysteine protease activated by calcium, has been suggested to be part of a specific PCD pathway in this parasite because the specific calpain inhibitor Z-Leu-Leu-Leu-al diminishes the PCD of trophozoites. Here, we predicted the hypothetical 3D structure of a calpain-like protein of E. histolytica and produced specific antibodies against it. We detected the protein in the cytoplasm and near the nucleus. Its expression gradually increased during incubation with G418, with the highest level after 9 h of treatment. In addition, a specific calpain-like siRNA sequence reduced the cell death rate by 65%. All these results support the hypothesis that the calpain-like protein is one of the proteases involved in the execution phase of PCD in E. histolytica. The hypothetical interactome of the calpain-like protein suggests that it may activate or regulate other proteins that probably participate in PCD, including those with EF-hand domains or other calcium-binding sites.

Factors that positively or negatively mediate the effects of age on working memory across the adult life span.

Working memory abilities significantly decrease with advancing age; hence, the search for factors that may increase or mitigate this decline is critical. Several factors have been identified that influence working memory; however, their effects have been mainly assessed separately and rarely together with other factors in the same sample. We examined 120 variables to search for factors that jointly act as mediators of working memory decay across the adult life span. A sample of 1652 healthy adults was assessed in spatial and verbal working memory domains. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to search for potential mediators that intervened between age and working memory. Only 14 and 10 variables reliably mediated spatial and verbal working memory, respectively. Factors from several domains remained in the models, such as individual characteristics, physiological traits, consumption habits, and regular activities. These factors are sufficiently powerful to influence working memory decline when they jointly interact, as in everyday living.

Mediators of episodic memory decay across the adult life span.

The ability to remember the details of our own experiences declines gradually as we get old. The reason for this decay has been attributed to several factors besides age, such as education, nutrient intake and health status. However, the influence of these factors has mainly been examined individually and rarely together. Here we identify those factors that jointly act as mediators of episodic memory decay across the adult life span. We examined source memory in a lifespan sample of 1557 healthy adults. A total of 70 physical, biological and lifestyle variables were measured and introduced into a structural equation model as potential mediators that intervene between age and source memory. Only 14 mediator variables reliably mediated source memory decay; notably, eight of these variables have an effect on the cardiovascular system. The model unequivocally highlights that the mediators that may impair cardiovascular functioning also impact brain resources involved in episodic memory. We identified the factors that are relevant to episodic memory decline when they interact together as occurs in real life.

Influence of solid waste and topography on urban floods: The case of Mexico City.

Floods in cities are increasingly common as a consequence of multifactor watershed dynamics, including geomorphology, land-use changes and land subsidence. However, urban managers have focused on infrastructure to address floods by reducing blocked sewage infrastructure, without significant success. Using Mexico City as a case study, we generated a spatial flood risk model with geomorphology and anthropogenic variables. The results helped contrast the implications of different public policies in land use and waste disposal, and correlating them with flood hazards. Waste disposal was only related to small floods. 58% of the city has a high risk of experiencing small floods, and 24% of the city has a risk for large floods. Half of the population with the lowest income is located in the high-risk areas for large floods. These models are easy to build, generate fast results and are able to help to flood policies, by understanding flood interactions in urban areas within the watershed.

Producción científica de la revista EDUMECENTRO y su visibilidad a través de Google Académico / Scientific production of EDUMECENTRO magazine and its visibility through Google Scholar

Fundamento: los estudios bibliométricos son importantes fuentes para el avance de las revistas científicas. Objetivo: describir la producción científica de la revista EDUMECENTRO en el período 2009-2016, a través de diferentes indicadores bibliométricos. Métodos: se realizó unestudio bibliom étrico, descriptivo, longitudinal y retrospectivo de la revista EDUMECENTRO, de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara en el periodo 2009-2016. Se aplicaron métodos teóricos, empíricos, así como matemáticos y estadísticos. Como fuente de información se emplearon los artículos publicados y la información obtenida a través del buscador Google Académico, además se utilizaron diferentes indicadores bibliométricos: productividad por autores, artículos producidos/citados, productividad por años, entre otros. Resultados: se incluyeron en el estudio todos los artículos publicados (484). Los años de mayor publicación fueron 2014 y 2016. Se obtuvo la mayor citación en los años 2013 y 2014. El porcentaje de endogamia editorial fue de 64 %. Se encontraron 234 autores transitorios, por lo que este índice fue de 48,3 %. El máximo de citas recibido por autor fue de 62. Se identificó el índice H de los autores más productivos. La mayor contribución de artículos fue de la propia universidad. El 70 % de los artículos publicados son originales. Conclusiones: este estudio permitió describir la producción científica de la revista EDUMECENTRO dentro del contexto de las ciencias de la salud, donde sobresalen como aspectos positivos la progresión de los índices de citación y la alta prevalencia de artículos originales publicados.

Background: bibliometric studies are important sources for the advancement of scientific journals. Objective: to describe the scientific production of the EDUMECENTRO journal in the period 2009-2016, through different bibliometric indicators. Methods: a bibliometric, descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study of the EDUMECENTRO journal of Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences was carried out from 2009 to 2016. Theoretical, empirical, as well as mathematical and statistical methods were applied. As a source of information, articles published and information obtained through the Google Academic search engine were used. In addition, different bibliometric indicators were used: productivity by authors, articles produced/cited, productivity by years, among others. Results: all published articles were included in the study (484). The years of greatest publication were 2014 and 2016. The highest citation was obtained in 2013 and 2014. The percentage of editorial endogamy was 64 %. We found 234 transient authors, so that this index was 48,3 %. The maximum number of citations received per author was 62. The H index of the most productive authors was identified. The greatest contribution of articles was from the university itself. 70 % of the published articles are original. Conclusions: this study allowed us to describe the scientific production of the EDUMECENTRO journal within the context of the health sciences, where the progression of citation indexes and the high prevalence of published original articles stand out as positive aspects.

Llgl1 Connects Cell Polarity with Cell-Cell Adhesion in Embryonic Neural Stem Cells.

Malformations of the cerebral cortex (MCCs) are devastating developmental disorders. We report here that mice with embryonic neural stem-cell-specific deletion of Llgl1 (Nestin-Cre/Llgl1fl/fl), a mammalian ortholog of the Drosophila cell polarity gene lgl, exhibit MCCs resembling severe periventricular heterotopia (PH). Immunohistochemical analyses and live cortical imaging of PH formation revealed that disruption of apical junctional complexes (AJCs) was responsible for PH in Nestin-Cre/Llgl1fl/fl brains. While it is well known that cell polarity proteins govern the formation of AJCs, the exact mechanisms remain unclear. We show that LLGL1 directly binds to and promotes internalization of N-cadherin, and N-cadherin/LLGL1 interaction is inhibited by atypical protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of LLGL1, restricting the accumulation of AJCs to the basolateral-apical boundary. Disruption of the N-cadherin-LLGL1 interaction during cortical development in vivo is sufficient for PH. These findings reveal a mechanism responsible for the physical and functional connection between cell polarity and cell-cell adhesion machineries in mammalian cells.

Colorectal cancer risk and nitrate exposure through drinking water and diet.

Ingested nitrate leads to the endogenous synthesis of N-nitroso compounds (NOCs), animal carcinogens with limited human evidence. We aimed to evaluate the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) associated with nitrate exposure in drinking water and diet. A case-control study in Spain and Italy during 2008-2013 was conducted. Hospital-based incident cases and population-based (Spain) or hospital-based (Italy) controls were interviewed on residential history, water consumption since age 18, and dietary information. Long-term waterborne ingested nitrate was derived from routine monitoring records, linked to subjects' residential histories and water consumption habits. Dietary nitrate intake was estimated from food frequency questionnaires and published food composition databases. Odd ratios (OR) were calculated using mixed models with area as random effect, adjusted for CRC risk factors and other covariables. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were used to analyze exposure-response relationships. Interaction with endogenous nitrosation factors and other covariables was also evaluated. In total 1,869 cases and 3,530 controls were analyzed. Average waterborne ingested nitrate ranged from 3.4 to 19.7 mg/day, among areas. OR (95% CIs) of CRC was 1.49 (1.24, 1.78) for >10 versus ≤5 mg/day, overall. Associations were larger among men versus women, and among subjects with high red meat intake. GAMs showed increasing exposure-response relationship among men. Animal-derived dietary nitrate was associated with rectal, but not with colon cancer risk. In conclusion, a positive association between CRC risk and waterborne ingested nitrate is suggested, mainly among subgroups with other risk factors. Heterogeneous effects of nitrate from different sources (water, animal and vegetables) warrant further research.

Calpain-like: A Ca(2+) dependent cystein protease in Entamoeba histolytica cell death.

Entamoeba histolytica programmed cell death (PCD) induced by G418 is characterized by the release of important amounts of intracellular calcium from reservoirs. Nevertheless, no typical caspases have been detected in the parasite, the PCD phenotype is inhibited by the cysteine protease inhibitor E-64. These results strongly suggest that Ca(2+)-dependent proteases could be involved in PCD. In this study, we evaluate the expression and activity of a specific dependent Ca(2+) protease, the calpain-like protease, by real-time quantitative PCR (RTq-PCR), Western blot assays and a enzymatic method during the induction of PCD by G418. Alternatively, using cell viability and TUNEL assays, we also demonstrated that the Z-Leu-Leu-Leu-al calpain inhibitor reduced the rate of cell death. The results demonstrated 4.9-fold overexpression of calpain-like gene 1.5 h after G418 PCD induction, while calpain-like protein increased almost two-fold with respect to basal calpain-like expression after 3 h of induction, and calpain activity was found to be approximately three-fold higher 6 h after treatment compared with untreated trophozoites. Taken together, these results suggest that this Ca(2+)-dependent protease could be involved in the executory phase of PCD.

Biblioteca del Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas, Villa Clara: evaluación de su colección / Library of the Provincial Information Center of Medical Sciences, Villa Clara: an evaluation of its collection

Fundamento: la evaluación de la colección bibliográfica representa uno de los elementos de mayor importancia dentro del proceso de desarrollo de las bibliotecas, para garantizar la satisfacción de las necesidades informativas de sus usuarios. Objetivo: evaluar el estado actual de la colección bibliográfica que conforma la Biblioteca del Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara. Métodos: se realizó una investigación documental en el período comprendido del 2010 al 2012; se emplearon métodos teóricos: histórico-lógico y analítico-sintético; y empíricos: el análisis documental, y la encuesta en forma de entrevista a informantes clave, para conocer su respaldo bibliográfico de las diferentes especialidades dentro del fondo documental. Resultados: todas las especialidades están representadas dentro del fondo documental pero existen debilidades relacionadas con el cubrimiento, en relación con su desactualización; la composición temática fue evaluada de regular en seis especialidades, y una obtuvo la calificación de mal. La totalidad del fondo documental está debidamente procesado y es posible acceder a él mediante las bases de datos bibliográficas de referencia existentes. Conclusiones: en la evaluación realizada constituye una fortaleza la composición temática, y son debilidades el nivel de desactualización, y el tamaño por diversas categorías. En general, ninguna especialidad fue evaluada de excelente, de acuerdo con los indicadores establecidos.

Background: collection evaluation represents one of the most important elements within the collection development process in libraries for satisfying user's information needs. Objective: to evaluate the current state of the library collection that makes up the library at the Provincial Information Center of Medical Sciences in Villa Clara. Methods: a documentary research was conducted in the period from 2010 to 2012 period; theoretical methods: historical-logical and analytic-synthetic; and empirical ones: documental analysis, and the survey as key informant interview, were used, mainly to know, the lines of research in each of the specialties and to assess the status of them on the documentary collection. Results: all specialties are represented on the documentary collection but there are weaknesses related to informational coverage because information is outdated; the thematic composition was assessed regular in six specialties, and one of them was rated poorly. The entire documentary collection is duly processed and you may access to it through the existing bibliographic reference databases. Conclusions: in the evaluation that was performed, thematic composition is a strength and the outdating level, and size for various categories, are weaknesses. In general, according to previously established indicators, any specialty was assessed as excellent.

Biblioteca del Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas, Villa Clara: evaluación de su colección / Library of the Provincial Information Center of Medical Sciences, Villa Clara: an evaluation of its collection

Fundamento: la evaluación de la colección bibliográfica representa uno de los elementos de mayor importancia dentro del proceso de desarrollo de las bibliotecas, para garantizar la satisfacción de las necesidades informativas de sus usuarios. Objetivo: evaluar el estado actual de la colección bibliográfica que conforma la Biblioteca del Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara. Métodos: se realizó una investigación documental en el período comprendido del 2010 al 2012; se emplearon métodos teóricos: histórico-lógico y analítico-sintético; y empíricos: el análisis documental, y la encuesta en forma de entrevista a informantes clave, para conocer su respaldo bibliográfico de las diferentes especialidades dentro del fondo documental. Resultados: todas las especialidades están representadas dentro del fondo documental pero existen debilidades relacionadas con el cubrimiento, en relación con su desactualización; la composición temática fue evaluada de regular en seis especialidades, y una obtuvo la calificación de mal. La totalidad del fondo documental está debidamente procesado y es posible acceder a él mediante las bases de datos bibliográficas de referencia existentes. Conclusiones: en la evaluación realizada constituye una fortaleza la composición temática, y son debilidades el nivel de desactualización, y el tamaño por diversas categorías. En general, ninguna especialidad fue evaluada de excelente, de acuerdo con los indicadores establecidos(AU)