Clinical and genetical diagnosis of a case of Meretoja syndrome and frontotemporal lifting procedure

A 56-year-old male with family background of corneal dystrophy presents with poor subjective vision. Biomicroscopy reveals bilateral reticular stromal dystrophy and facial inspection shows signs of muscle dysfunction, such as eyebrow ptosis, weakness and sagging of the frontal muscles, redundant skin on the forehead and skin hyperelasticity. The patient is referred to Plastic Surgery for evaluation of the frontal muscle involvement, undergoing a frontotemporal lifting procedure. On the other hand, genetics confirms the pathogenic variant c.640G>A (p.Asp214Asn) in the GSN gene, encoding gelsolin, a mutation associated with Finnish-type familial amyloidosis or Meretoja syndrome.

[Reliability of radiographic parameters to determine the surgical success in distal radius fractures]

INTRODUCTION

distal radius fractures are the most common in upper extremities. Therefore, it is important to standardize radiographic measures for their surgical approach. This study assessed the intra/interobserver reproducibility of radiographic parameters associated with surgical success of distal radius fractures.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

retrospective cross-sectional design of secondary data extracted from clinical records. Posteroanterior and lateral X-rays of 112 distal radius fractures were assessed by two trauma specialists standardized in the measurements required to compute five parameters indicative of postoperative success: radial height, radial inclination, volar tilt, ulnar variance, and articular stepoff. The reproducibility of distances and angles was evaluated using the Bland-Altman method, calculating the mean of the difference between measurements, the range at ± 2 SD, and the proportion of measurements outside ± 2 SD. Postoperative success was also compared between patients with and without obesity according to the mean of the two measures made by each evaluator.

RESULTS

evaluator 1 had the largest intra-observer difference in radial height (0.16 mm) and the largest proportion outside ± 2 SD in ulnar variance (8.1%); evaluator 2 had the largest difference in volar tilt (1.92o) and the highest proportion in radial inclination (10.7%). The largest inter-observer difference was for ulnar variance (1.02 mm) and the largest proportion outside ± 2 SD. for radial height (5.4%). Radial tilt had the largest difference (1.41o) with 4.5% of measurements outside ± 2 SD. Ulnar variance and volar tilt had the largest difference in postoperative success between evaluators, especially in patients with obesity.

CONCLUSION

improving the radiographic quality and standardizing the measurements results in more reproducible indicators.

Diagnosis of an X-linked type 2 congenital stationary night blindness using electroretinography and CACNA1F sequencing

A 4-year-old boy, with no history of relevance, presented with bilateral visual impairment, more so in scotopic conditions, and did not improve with optical correction. No significant funduscopic abnormalities were seen, leading to a suspicion of retinal dystrophy. Sequencing of the CACNA1F gene detected the c.3081C>A (p.Tyr1027Ter) mutation, which had occurred de novo in the patient's mother. This mutation, in the aforementioned clinical context, and with a compatible electronegative pattern, establishes the diagnosis of X-linked type 2 congenital stationary night blindness. Electrophysiology and genetic testing should be part of the diagnostic protocol for any unexplained loss of vision in children. The description, nomenclature and classification of hereditary retinal dystrophies based on their genotypic and electroretinograpic characteristics, avoids diagnostic errors due to their usual clinical and phenotypic overlap.

Trace elements of concern affecting urban agriculture in industrialized areas: A multivariate approach

The urban and peri-urban soils used for agriculture could be contaminated by atmospheric deposition or industrial releases, thus raising concerns about the potential risk to public health. Here we propose a method to evaluate potential soil pollution based on multivariate statistics, geostatistics (kriging), a novel soil pollution index, and bioavailability assessments. This approach was tested in two districts of a highly populated and industrialized city (Gijón, Spain). The soils showed anomalous content of several trace elements, such as As and Pb (up to 80 and 585 mg kg^-1 respectively). In addition, factor analyses associated these elements with anthropogenic activity, whereas other elements were attributed to natural sources. Subsequent clustering also facilitated the differentiation between the northern area studied (only limited Pb pollution found) and the southern area (pattern of coal combustion, including simultaneous anomalies of trace elements and benzo(a)pyrene). A normalized soil pollution index (SPI) was calculated by kriging, using only the elements falling above threshold levels; therefore point-source polluted zones in the northern area and diffuse contamination in the south were identified. In addition, in the six mapping units with the highest SPIs of the fifty studied, we observed low bioavailability for most of the elements that surpassed the threshold levels. However, some anomalies of Pb contents and the pollution fingerprint in the central area of the southern grid call for further site-specific studies. On the whole, the combination of a multivariate (geo) statistic approach and a bioavailability assessment allowed us to efficiently identify sources of contamination and potential risks.

Evaluation of Fe3+fixation into montmorillonite clay and its application in the polymerization of ethylenedioxythiophene

An analysis of the sorption process allowed to establish that Fe³⁺sorption into montmorillonite is a chemical process that involves an exchange of cations from the montmorillonite interstitial space between layers.

Speciation of U(VI) sorbed onto ZrP2O7 in the presence of citric and oxalic acid

In the field of nuclear waste management, prediction of radionuclide migration through the geosphere has to take into account the effects of organic matter. This work deals with the effects of organic acids (citric and oxalic acid) on speciation of uranium(VI) sorbed onto zirconium diphosphate (ZrP2O7). Surface properties of zirconium diphosphate and its uranium(VI) sorption capability in the presence and absence of organic acids were previously studied. The preliminary study suggested that organic acids take part in the sorption equilibria. In order to understand the interactions between organic ligands (citrate or oxalate), uranium(VI) and zirconium diphosphate, a luminescence spectroscopy study was carried out. Luminescence measurements indicated that only one uranium(VI) surface complex is formed when citric or oxalic acid is present. Moreover, the total carbon content in the studied samples indicated that organic ligands remain on the surface when uranium(VI) sorption is carried out. Uranium sorption edges were then fitted with the FITEQL4.0 code [15] and the constant capacitance model (CCM). Spectroscopy information was used to constraint the modeling. The best fit for the U(VI)/citrate/ZrP2O7 and U(VI)/oxalate/ZrP2O7 systems considered the formation of a ternary surface complex.

[Virology, epidemiology and transmission mechanisms of hepatitis B virus]

Illness due to the hepatitis B virus is an enormous problem for international public health, affecting over 300 million persons throughout the world, although its prevalence varies considerably between different geographic areas. The universal vaccination of the newly born, promulgated by the World Health Organisation, has made it possible to partially control the spread of the virus in many countries, including Spain. However, the vaccine does not generate protective antibodies in approximately 5% of the population. Besides, infection by the hepatitis B virus can produce few symptoms and the virus is easily transmitted, making its epidemiological control difficult. On the other hand, the growing flow of bi-directional migration of persons between geographical areas with a moderate or high prevalence and Spain also seems to be contributing to the persistence of the disease in our milieu. All of this makes it compulsory to deploy an ensemble of preventive measures based on an increasingly deep understanding of the biological cycle of the virus. In Spain, as in other regions with a low prevalence, the hepatitis B virus infection is considered chiefly to be a disease of sexual transmission, or else contagion takes place between patients who are users of intravenous drugs. On the other hand, blood transmission is of scarce importance in our milieu. Following exposure to the hepatitis B virus, prophylaxis with immunoglobins and also the administration of the vaccine is highly effective, and acquires special interest for all healthcare workers.