Improvements in the Effectiveness of Early Detection in Colorectal Cancer with Open-Label Randomised Study.

INTRODUCTION: The general objective of this research is to improve the quality of colorectal cancer screening (CRC) by assessing, as an indicator of effectiveness, the ability of colonoscopy to detect more advanced adenomas in the exposed group than in the control group. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present work is designed as an open-label randomized study on cancer screening, using two groups based on their exposure to the protocol: an exposed to intervention group (EIG, 167), and a control group (CG, 167), without the intervention of the protocol and by 1:1 matching. RESULTS: In 167 patients in the GEI, 449 polyps are visualized and 274 are adenomas (80.58%), of which 100 (36.49%) are advanced adenomas. In the CG (n = 174), there are 321 polyps and 152 adenomas (82.60%). The variables significantly associated by logistic regression to the detection of adenomas are the male sex with an OR of 2.52. The variable time to withdrawal, ≥9 min, is significant at 99% confidence (p = 0.002/OR 34.67) and the fractional dose is significant at 99% (p = 0.009, OR 7.81). CONCLUSION: Based on the observations made, our study suggests that the intervention in collaboration between primary care and hospital care is effective from a preventive point of view and achieves the objective of effectiveness and quality of the PCCR.

A 1.2V 1.5 microW 4 kS/s 10b Pipelined ADC for electroencephalogram applications.

This paper presents the design of a Pipelined Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for Electroencephalogram (EEG) applications with 10 bits of resolution, 1.2V of supply voltage and only 1.5 microW of power consumption using a standard 0.5 microm CMOS technology. Low-voltage and low-power operation has been achieved using Quasi-Floating-Gate (QFG) based circuits. The use of a new class-AB operational amplifier in weak inversion allows very low power consumption and high enough open loop gain. Simulation results show an energy efficiency of 0.84 pJ per quantization level, placing the converter into the state-of-the-art of low-frequency low-power ADCs.

A nonsense mutation in the exon 2 of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A lyase (HL) gene producing three mature mRNAs is the main cause of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric aciduria in European Mediterranean patients.

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaric aciduria is a rare recessive monogenic disorder that affects ketogenesis and the catabolism of L-leucine. We report the biochemical and molecular characterization of a mutation in the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A lyase gene in four new probands, three Spanish and one Turkish, affected by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric aciduria, all homozygous for the nonsense mutation Glu37Ter, which was reported by our group in two probands of Portuguese and Moroccan origin (15). In addition to the aberrant mRNAs found in the two previous probands, a novel species of mature HL mRNA was observed in the patients studied here, since a new cDNA, skipped in exons 2 and 3, was obtained from the mRNAs by reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR). Thus, three mRNA species were produced in aberrant splicings as a result of this nonsense mutation: (i) one of the expected size that contains the premature stop codon UAA, (ii) another with a deletion of 84 bp corresponding to the whole of exon 2, and (iii) a new species found now, with a deletion of 192 bp corresponding to skipping of the whole of exons 2 and 3, whose translation product led to the loss of seven amino acids in the leader peptide and 57 amino acids in the terminal domain of the mature enzyme. The association of a nonsense mutation with the skipping of the exon that contains it, plus the following exon, is an unusual finding not seen previously in HL deficiencies. The mutation described here shows the highest incidence (> 37%) of total HL deficiencies reported.

[Apgar questionnaire in the study of family function]. / Estudio de la función familiar a través del cuestionario Apgar.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse family dynamics among health service users. To establish a connection between perception of family dysfunction and different variables. DESIGN: A descriptive crossover study, in line with a closed question survey model: a) family Apgar, b) 16 item questionnaire. SETTING: Jumilla Health Centre, Murcia. PATIENTS: 397 patients between 18 and 65 were selected by systematic sampling. INTERVENTIONS: The Chi-squared statistical method and remainder analysis were used. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: a) Analysis of family perception: 315 normally functioning (79.35%) and 82 dysfunctional (20.65%). b) There were statistically significant connections between family dysfunction and the number of brothers and sisters and the place occupied by them, marital status, number of children, educational level, mental health and reason for the consultation. CONCLUSIONS: The family Apgar enables patients with family dysfunction to be identified. There is a clear connection between family dysfunction and the reasons for seeking health care.