Positive psychological characteristics and mental health in skaters during Covid-19 confinement / Características psicológicas positivas y salud mental en patinadores durante confinamiento por Covid-19

The aim of this study was to assess the emotional state, habits and routines (measured through an ad-hoc questionnaire), personality traits (LOT-R, PFRS and COPE-28) and mental health (EBP and GHQ-12) of 71 Spanish high-performance skaters (38 men and 33 women) during COVID-19 confinement. The results indicate a good adaptation of the athletes at the cognitive, emotional and behavioural levels during the confinement. Skaters stand out for optimism, resilience and an active coping style, which may be positive regulators of the behavioural response. Distress is associated with lower resilience and greater avoidance coping. Women presented worse emotional response and greater difficulty to sleep than men. It was concluded that the athletes examined presented a positive profile that makes them cope adequately with confinement, in which potential gender differences need to be considered. (AU)

El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar el estado emocional, hábitos y rutinas (medido con un cuestionario ad hoc), características de personalidad (LOT-R, PFRS y COPE-28) y salud mental (EBP y GHQ-12) en 71 patinadores españoles de alto rendimiento (38 hombres y 33 mujeres) durante el confinamiento por la COVID-19. Los resultados indican una buena adaptación de los deportistas a nivel cognitivo, emocional y conductual durante el confinamiento. Los patinadores destacan por el optimismo, la resiliencia y un estilo de afrontamiento activo, que pueden ser moduladores positivos de la respuesta comportamental. El distrés se asocia a una menor resiliencia y mayor evitación del afrontamiento. Las mujeres obtienen una peor respuesta emocional y mayor dificultad para dormir que los hombres. Se concluye que los deportistas evaluados poseen un perfil positivo que les hace afrontar el confinamiento adecuadamente, en el que se requiere atender las posibles diferencias de género. (AU)

Tumour mitochondrial DNA mutations drive aerobic glycolysis to enhance checkpoint blockade.

The mitochondrial genome encodes essential machinery for respiration and metabolic homeostasis but is paradoxically among the most common targets of somatic mutation in the cancer genome, with truncating mutations in respiratory complex I genes being most over-represented1. While mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been associated with both improved and worsened prognoses in several tumour lineages1-3, whether these mutations are drivers or exert any functional effect on tumour biology remains controversial. Here we discovered that complex I-encoding mtDNA mutations are sufficient to remodel the tumour immune landscape and therapeutic resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. Using mtDNA base editing technology4 we engineered recurrent truncating mutations in the mtDNA-encoded complex I gene, Mt-Nd5, into murine models of melanoma. Mechanistically, these mutations promoted utilisation of pyruvate as a terminal electron acceptor and increased glycolytic flux without major effects on oxygen consumption, driven by an over-reduced NAD pool and NADH shuttling between GAPDH and MDH1, mediating a Warburg-like metabolic shift. In turn, without modifying tumour growth, this altered cancer cell-intrinsic metabolism reshaped the tumour microenvironment in both mice and humans, promoting an anti-tumour immune response characterised by loss of resident neutrophils. This subsequently sensitised tumours bearing high mtDNA mutant heteroplasmy to immune checkpoint blockade, with phenocopy of key metabolic changes being sufficient to mediate this effect. Strikingly, patient lesions bearing >50% mtDNA mutation heteroplasmy also demonstrated a >2.5-fold improved response rate to checkpoint inhibitor blockade. Taken together these data nominate mtDNA mutations as functional regulators of cancer metabolism and tumour biology, with potential for therapeutic exploitation and treatment stratification.

Calibration of Trust in Automated Driving: A Matter of Initial Level of Trust and Automated Driving Style?

OBJECTIVE: Automated driving is becoming a reality, and such technology raises new concerns about human-machine interaction on road. This paper aims to investigate factors influencing trust calibration and evolution over time. BACKGROUND: Numerous studies showed trust was a determinant in automation use and misuse, particularly in the automated driving context. METHOD: Sixty-one drivers participated in an experiment aiming to better understand the influence of initial level of trust (Trustful vs. Distrustful) on drivers' behaviors and trust calibration during two sessions of simulated automated driving. The automated driving style was manipulated as positive (smooth) or negative (abrupt) to investigate human-machine early interactions. Trust was assessed over time through questionnaires. Drivers' visual behaviors and take-over performances during an unplanned take-over request were also investigated. RESULTS: Results showed an increase of trust over time, for both Trustful and Distrustful drivers regardless the automated driving style. Trust was also found to fluctuate over time depending on the specific events handled by the automated vehicle. Take-over performances were not influenced by the initial level of trust nor automated driving style. CONCLUSION: Trust in automated driving increases rapidly when drivers' experience such a system. Initial level of trust seems to be crucial in further trust calibration and modulate the effect of automation performance. Long-term trust evolutions suggest that experience modify drivers' mental model about automated driving systems. APPLICATION: In the automated driving context, trust calibration is a decisive question to guide such systems' proper utilization, and road safety.

First feeding regimes for long-snout seahorse Hippocampus reidi larvae.

Seahorses are endangered species included in Appendix II of CITES from 2002 due to the progressive regression of wild populations. This study focused in Hippocampus reidi, one of the species with highest interest in trade, showing an increasing demand in the last decades. This study was conducted during 28 days to compare the effects of different time enrichment (0, 24, and 48h) for Artemia using a commercial product (Easy-Selco DHA INVE Aquaculture, Dendermonde, Belgium). Results showed no significant differences in growth between treatments until 21DAB, after which animals fed for 48h one enriched Artemia showed significantly better growth. Cumulative average survival during the first 14DAB was significantly higher in Oh treatment, while from 15DAB to the end of the experiment, no significantly differences were observed.

Can we accept donors who have suffered a resuscitated cardiac arrest?

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: The shortage of donor organs has prompted increased acceptance of hearts from donors with more comorbidities. With increasing frequency, hearts are being offered from patients who have undergone a resuscitated cardiac arrest (RCA). Our aim was to compare the rate of complications in the postoperative and follow-up periods, depending on whether the transplanted organ came from a donor who had undergone an RCA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included all 604 heart transplantations (HTs) performed in our center from 1987 to 2009, including 25 recipients who received an organ from a donor who had undergone RCA. We considered RCA to be an in-hospital cardiac arrest that was resuscitated from the onset, with a duration of <30 minutes, and with total recovery of cardiac and hemodynamic function. We analyzed ischemia time, incidence of acute graft failure (AGF), intubation period, recovery room stay, and long-term survival. The statistical methods were Student t and chi-square tests. RESULTS: There were no differences in baseline characteristics, except that patients in the RCA group were younger (47±13 vs 51±11 years; P=.50). There were also no differences between the RCA group and the other patients in ischemia time (151±50 vs 154±53 minutes; P=.826), incidence of AGF (33% vs 24.7%; P=.311), hours of intubation (76±204 vs 72±249; P=.926), days of recovery room stay (6±7 vs 8±6; P=.453), or survival after HT (53±54 vs 53±52 months; P=.982). CONCLUSIONS: Patients receiving a heart from a patient with an in-hospital RCA and subsequent hemodynamic stability have a similar outcomes to other HT patients.

Normalization of the heart rate response to exercise 6 months after cardiac transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Heart transplant recipients show an abnormal heart rate (HR) response to exercise due to complete cardiac denervation after surgery. They present elevated resting HR, minimal increase in HR during exercise, with maximal HR reached during the recovery period. The objective of this study was to study the frequency of normalization of the abnormal HR in the first 6 months after transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively studied 27 heart transplant recipients who underwent treadmill exercise tests at 2 and 6 months after heart transplantation (HT). HR responses to exercise were classified as normal or abnormal, depending on achieving all of the following criteria: (1) increased HR for each minute of exercise, (2) highest HR at the peak exercise intensity, and (3) decreased HR for each minute of the recovery period. The HR response at 2 months was compared with the results at 6 months post-HT. RESULTS: At 2 months post-HT, 96.3% of the patients showed abnormal HR responses to exercise. Four months later, 11 patients (40.7%) had normalized HR responses (P<.001), which also involved a significant decrease in the time to achieve the highest HR after exercise (124.4±63.8 seconds in the first test and 55.6±44.6 seconds in the second). A significant improvement in exercise capacity and chronotropic competence was also shown in tests performed at 6 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We observed important improvements in HR responses to exercise at 6 months after HT, which may represent early functional cardiac reinnervation.

Mortality from renal dysfunction in heart transplant patients: creatinine versus glomerular filtration rate.

INTRODUCTION: One of the most common, significant problems after heart transplantation (HT) is the development of renal dysfunction. In recent years, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has replaced the serum creatinine as the standard parameter for its determination. Our objective was to analyze which renal function parameter (creatinine or GFR) at 1 year after HT better classified patients who will die during follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 316 consecutive HT patients surviving at least 1 year after transplantation. Creatinine and GFR were determined by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study (MDRD4) equation. Mortality during the follow-up was analyzed to compare both parameters using receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: Over a mean follow-up of 6±3 years, 97 patients died (30.7%). At 1 year after HT, the patients who succumbed displayed a significantly higher mean creatinine value (1.63±0.65 vs 1.41±0.64 mg/dL; P=.004) and a more decreased GFR (53.8 vs 60.8 mL/min/1.73 m2; P=.006). Both groups had the same area under the curve, 0.61 (95% confidence interval: 0.54-0.68; P=.002). CONCLUSION: Among our population, GFR calculated by the abbreviated MDRD4 equation did not provide any additional prognostic value to serum creatinine at 1 year after HT to predict long-term mortality.

Post-heart transplant tumors: chronology and impact on survival.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Tumors are the second leading cause of death beyond the first year heart transplantation (HT). The aim of our study was to establish a chronology for the occurrence and the impact on overall survival of de novo neoplasms after HT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 597 patients undergoing HT from January 1987 to December 2008. De novo tumors were classified into groups: Kaposi's sarcoma, melanoma, epidermoid skin carcinoma, other skin tumors, lung neoplasms, bladder tumors, prostate adenocarcinoma, digestive tumors, lymphomas, and other tumors. We based the study on the median value and interquartile range of the tumors to estimate their occurrence. Survival rates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank tests. We included only patients with survivals beyond 1 year after HT. RESULTS: A total of 109 tumors developed during the follow-up. There were no differences in the survival of patients who lived more than 1 year regarding the development or not of a tumor (155±8 vs 179±6 months; P=.177). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of tumor occurrence after HT was high (18.25%). There were several periods in which the occurrence of certain tumors was more frequent, while other periods appeared to be tumor-free. As most tumors were skin cancers, their impact on overall survival was low.

Preliminary results of a prospective randomized study of cyclosporine versus tacrolimus in the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy at 1 year after heart transplantation.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is the leading cause of death after the first year post-heart transplantation (HT). Numerous factors have been implicated in the development of CAV. The aim of this prospective randomized study was to assess the impact of cyclosporine (CsA) and tacrolimus (Tac) on the development of CAV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From November 2006 to October 2008, 49 HT patients in our center were randomized to receive CsA or Tac. The additional treatment for all patients consisted of daclizumab induction and maintenance treatment with mycophenolate mofetil (1 g/12 hours) and steroids (withdrawal was not attempted). Thirteen patients died before coronary arteriography plus intravascular ultrasound of the left anterior descending artery was performed at 1 year after HT. Hence, the final number of patients included was 36 (18 per group). We considered significant CAV to be the presence of intimal proliferation>1 mm and/or>0.5 mm in 180°. The statistical methods were Student t and chi-square tests. RESULTS: There were no differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. Nor were there significant differences in maximum intimal proliferation between the groups (CsA 0.65±0.29 vs Tac 0.82±0.51 mm; P=.292) or in the development of significant CAV when both criteria were combined (CsA 31.6% vs Tac 38.9%; P=.642). CONCLUSIONS: One year after HT, no differences were detected in the development of significant CAV according to the type of calcineurin inhibitor used when combined with daclizumab induction and maintenance treatment with mycophenolate mofetil and steroids.

Infección por Nocardia en pacientes trasplantados cardiacos / Nocardia infection in heart transplant recipients

Introducción. La incidencia de la infección por Nocardia en pacientes trasplantados oscila entre el 0,7–3% y conlleva una mortalidad elevada (26–63%). Este artículo pretende precisar las características epidemiológicas, clínicas y evolutivas de los pacientes con transplante cardiaco que desarrollan nocardiosis en nuestro medio. Métodos. Cohorte retrospectiva de 570 pacientes trasplantados cardiacos. Se revisan las historias clínicas de aquellos en los que se realizó el diagnóstico de infección por Nocardia durante el seguimiento y se registraron datos demográficos, antecedentes personales, régimen de inmunosupresión, profilaxis antibiótica, episodios de rechazo, infecciones asociadas, así como, lugar de la infección por Nocardia, tratamiento administrado y evolución. Resultados. Se identificaron 4 casos con nocardiosis (incidencia del 0,73%), siendo en 2 de ellos diseminada. En todos hubo afectación pulmonar. La mortalidad fue elevada (2 de los 4 pacientes). Conclusión. En pacientes trasplantados cardiacos la infección por Nocardia es poco frecuente y conlleva una elevada mortalidad. Sería necesario un diagnostico precoz para instaurar un tratamiento adecuado(AU)

Introduction. The incidence of Nocardia infection in transplant patients ranges between 0.7 and 3% with a high mortality (26–63%). This fact, together with a median time to diagnosis in about two weeks ago that the state of alertness is of vital clinical importance. Methods. From a cohort of 570 cardiac transplant patients, we reviewed the medical records of those who underwent the diagnosis of Nocardia infection during follow-up. Results. We identified four cases (incidence 0.73%), two scattered. In all, had pulmonary involvement. Mortality was high (2 of 4 patients). Conclusion. In cardiac transplant patients Nocardia infection is rare but has a high mortality, being necessary an early diagnosis to establish an appropriate treatment(AU)

[Nocardia infection in heart transplant recipients]. / Infección por Nocardia en pacientes trasplantados cardiacos.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of Nocardia infection in transplant patients ranges between 0.7 and 3% with a high mortality (26-63%). This fact, together with a median time to diagnosis in about two weeks ago that the state of alertness is of vital clinical importance. METHODS: From a cohort of 570 cardiac transplant patients, we reviewed the medical records of those who underwent the diagnosis of Nocardia infection during follow-up. RESULTS: We identified four cases (incidence 0.73%), two scattered. In all, had pulmonary involvement. Mortality was high (2 of 4 patients). CONCLUSION: In cardiac transplant patients Nocardia infection is rare but has a high mortality, being necessary an early diagnosis to establish an appropriate treatment.

Exercise tolerance after beta blockade in recent cardiac transplant recipients.

OBJECTIVE: Exercise capacity has been shown to be reduced among cardiac transplant recipients. This observation is directly connected to both the transplanted heart's dependence on circulating catecholamines and the abnormal sympathoadrenal response to exercise in these patients. Taking into account this background, there is reluctance to use beta-blockers after heart transplantation. Nevertheless, this point remains controversial. Our aim was to examine exercise tolerance after an oral dose of atenolol early after cardiac transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen nonrejecting, otherwise health, cardiac transplant recipients were included in this study at a mean of 61.9 +/- 25.6 days after surgery; 13 were men. Patients performed controlled exercise to a symptom-limited maximum before and 2 hours after taking an oral dose of atenolol. Heart rate, blood pressure, exercise time, and metabolic equivalent units (METS) were recorded at rest as well as during and after exercise. We compared results depending on taking atenolol. RESULTS: Resting (101.7 +/- 14.5 vs 84 +/- 12.4 bpm; P = .001) and peak heart rates (128.5 +/- 12.9 vs 100.7 +/- 16 bpm; P = .001) were significantly higher before than after beta blockade. Resting systolic blood pressure was slightly higher before compared with after beta blockade (129.3 +/- 23.6 vs 122.2 +/- 20.3 mm Hg; P = .103). However, there was neither a significant difference in the length of exercise (3.17 +/- 1.96 vs 3.40 +/- 2.48 minutes; P = .918) nor in the estimated oxygen consumption (METS; 5.07 +/- 1.8 vs 5.31 +/- 2.2; P = .229). Furthermore, no patient reported a greater degree of tiredness after beta blockade. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed little adverse effect on exercise tolerance by beta blockade in recently transplanted patients. Atenolol seemed to be safe in this context.

Effect of hypertension, diabetes, and smoking on development of renal dysfunction after heart transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Renal dysfunction is a serious problem after heart transplantation (HT). The objective of this study was to determine the cardiovascular risk factors associated with medium- to long-term dysfunction after HT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 247 consecutive patients who underwent HT between January 2000 and September 2006 who survived for at least 6 months. We excluded patients receiving combination transplants, those undergoing repeat HT, and pediatric patients undergoing HT. Mean (SD) follow-up was 72 (42) months. We defined renal dysfunction as serum creatinine concentration greater than 1.4 mg/dL during follow-up. Patients were considered to be smokers if they had smoked during the six months before HT, to have hypertension if they required drugs for blood pressure control, and to have diabetes if they required insulin therapy. Statistical tests included the t test and the chi(2) tests. We performed Cox regression analysis using significant or nearly significant values in the univariate analysis. RESULTS: Mean (SD) age of the patients who underwent HT was 52 (10) years, and 217 (87.9%) were men. Renal dysfunction was detected during follow-up in 135 (54.5%) patients. The significant variables at univariate analysis were smoking (61.4% vs. 43.2%; P = .01) and previous renal dysfunction (94.1% vs 52.7%; P = .001). Nearly significant variables were the presence of hypertension before HT (63.8% vs 51.1%; P = .09) and after HT (58.2% vs 44.8%; P = .082). At multivariate analysis, pre-HT smoking and previous renal dysfunction were significant correlates (P = .04 and P = .01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Renal dysfunction is common after HT. In our analysis, the best predictors were pre-HT dysfunction and smoking. Less important factors were advanced age and post-HT hypertension.

Hypertension after heart transplantation: predictive factors and number and classes of drugs for its management.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to determine the factors that cause arterial hypertension after heart transplantation (HT) and the drugs used in its management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 247 consecutive patients who had undergone HT between 2000 and 2006 and who survived for at least 6 months. We excluded patients who received combination transplants, those who underwent repeat transplantation, and pediatric patients who had received transplants. Hypertension was defined as the need to use drugs for its control. Renal dysfunction was defined as serum creatinine concentration greater than 1.4 mg/dL, and diabetes as the need for an antidiabetes drug for its control. Statistical analyses were performed using the t test, the chi(2) test, and Cox regression. RESULTS: Mean (SD) patient age was 52 (10) years, and 87.4% of the patients were men. Follow-up was 72 (42) months. Hypertension was present in 33.3% of patients before HT and in 71.1% at some time after HT. The number of drugs used to control hypertension was 1.3 (0.5); one drug was used in 72.9% of patients. The most often used single class of drugs were calcium channel blockers (63.2%), followed by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (20%), and angiotensin receptor blockers (15.8%). Only pre-HT hypertension was significantly associated with greater use of antihypertensive drugs post-HT (mean [SD], 1.48 [0.65] vs 1.22 [0.41]; P = .005). At univariate analysis, only pre-HT hypertension was associated with the presence of post-HT hypertension (80.5% vs 65.5%; P = .02). At Cox regression analysis, recipient age (P = .02) and pre-HT hypertension (P = .004) were associated with post-HT hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension is common after HT; however, in most patients, it can be controlled with a single antihypertensive agent. The most important factors in the development of hypertension are the presence of pre-HT hypertension and advanced age.

[Value of transcutaneous blood gas monitoring in fiberoptic bronchoscopy in intensive care patients]. / Intérêt de la mesure transcutanée des gaz du sang au cours des fibroscopies bronchiques en réanimation.

Transcutaneous carbon dioxide and oxygen tensions (PtcCO2 and PtcO2) were monitored in seven critically ill patients under mechanical ventilation during fiberoptic bronchoscopy. In these conditions, both PtcO2 and PaO2 and PtcCO2 and PaCO2 correlated, with correlation coefficients of 0.964 and 0.793 respectively. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy induced an average fall in PtcO2 of 42 +/- 2.57 mmHg and an average increase in PtcCO2 of 12.1 +/- 1.89 mmHg; these two parameters returned quickly to their initial values after the procedure. Holter monitoring showed an arrhythmia in five of the seven patients. Continuous measurement of PtcO2 and PtcCO2 was a safe and reliable method for monitoring mechanically ventilated patients undergoing fiberoptic bronchoscopy.