Piperacillin/tazobactam‐induced neurotoxicity in a hemodialysis patient: A case report

Antibiotics are potentially a cause of neurotoxicity in dialysis patients, the most common are the beta‐lactams as ceftazidime and cefepime, and few cases have been reported after piperacillin/tazobactam use. This report presents a case of a hypertensive and diabetic 67‐year‐old woman in regular hemodialysis, which previously had a stroke. She was hospitalized presenting pneumonia, which was initially treated with cefepime. Two days after treatment, she presented dysarthria, left hemiparesis, ataxia, and IX and X cranial nerves paresis. Computed tomography showed no acute lesions and cefepime neurotoxicity was hypothesized, and the antibiotic was replaced by piperacillin/tazobactam. The neurologic signs disappeared; however, 4 days after with piperacillin/tazobactam treatment, the neurological manifestations returned. A new computed tomography showed no new lesions, and the second antibiotic regimen withdrawn. After two hemodialysis sessions, the patient completely recovered from neurological manifestations. The patient presented sequentially neurotoxicity caused by two beta‐lactams antibiotics. This report meant to alert clinicians that these antibiotics have dangerous neurological effects in chronic kidney disease patients.     

Direct synthesis of copper faujasite

Copper containing faujasite has been successfully prepared for the first time using a direct synthesis method. Faujasite type zeolite can be prepared in the presence of copper species by tuning the synthesis conditions. Ammonium hydroxide was used to form a copper complex that was later mixed with the reacting gel. Sodium is required to obtain copper faujasite. The complete elimination of sodium ions from the starting gel produces amorphous material. Crystallization took place at 358 K for 11 days. Crystallization temperature of 373 K produces ANA type zeolite as an impurity. Increasing by two times the amount of copper complex added to the reacting gel increases the crystallization time of Cu-FAU from 11 to 20 days (the crystallization rate decreases). The copper containing faujasite obtained was characterized by XRD, FESEM, EDX, EPR, FT-IR, TPR, and BET. According to the XRD pattern only FAU type zeolite was obtained. According to TPR experiments, the reduction temperature for Cu²⁺ ions present in Cu-FAU prepared by direct synthesis was 70 K more than for Cu-FAU prepared by ion-exchange. This difference can be due to the different location of the copper ions in the supercages or in the sodalite cages of the faujasite.     

Microstructural Modelling of Nb Microalloyed Steels during Thin Slab Direct Rolling Processing

The microstructural evolution during the hot rolling of coarse grain sized austenite has been modeled considering all the microstructural mechanisms (dynamic, static and metadynamic recrystallization, strain induced precipitation) that can take place during an industrial TSDR production of three Nb microalloyed steels. Based on the results obtained from the model, processing maps have been drawn for 0.02%, 0.035% and 0.05% Nb microalloyed steels. Optimum processing conditions to exploit all the benefits of the Nb microalloying have been defined considering a final gauge thickness range between 1.5 and 12.65 mm. In addition, and facing the difficulties present in the production of thick hot strip, several alternative thermomechanical schedules are proposed, which would originate microstructures with a suitable combination of homogeneity and retained strain prior to transformation.     

Prevalence of serologic markers of HBV, HDV, HCV and HIV in non-injection drug users compared to injection drug users in Gran Canaria, Spain

Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is an autosomal dominant tumour syndrome caused by germline mutations of the VHL tumour suppressor gene located on chromosome 3p25-26. In VHL tumours may occur in 14 different target organs, including the eye. Retinal angiomas are considered the first manifestation of VHL disease in 43% of cases, and the cumulative probability of developing a retinal angioma in one or both eyes rises during each decade of life, reaching 80% for patients over 80 years old. Since 1976 patients with VHL at the University Hospital of Utrecht and their at-risk relatives have been screened periodically by a multidisciplinary team. Long-term follow-up ophthalmological data were analysed with special attention to natural course and results of treatment. In addition, we looked for a genotype-phenotype correlation. Retinal angiomas were found in all families. In one large family with a missense mutation (V170D) of the VHL gene, in which the complete spectrum of visceral- and central nervous system (CNS) features of VHL is present, macular, parapapillary, optic disc and ora serrata angiomas were also found. In general, however, a clear-cut genotype-phenotype correlation could not be found. Only early detection and treatment of peripheral retinal angiomas can be expected to decrease the percentage of patients with decreased visual acuity. Therefore, early detection and treatment of these tumours is of paramount importance. Ophthalmological screening of patients and persons at risk should start as early as possible. In patients with apparently sporadic retinal angiomas it is advisable to perform germline DNA analysis, since the risk of developing VHL is high, especially if the angiomas are bilateral, or unilateral and multifocal, if the patient is young, or if there is a family history suggestive of VHL.     

A Tale of Two Dams: The Impact of Reservoir Management on Rural Depopulation in Central Spain

In rural areas, depopulation is mainly due to a lack of economic and employment opportunities. In this context, the reservoirs already built can be a source of socioeconomic development based on tourism and outdoor leisure activities. The condition for this development to materialize is that reservoir management considers these activities. In Central Spain, a process of rural depopulation has been generated in the municipalities around the reservoirs at the Upper Tagus River, as water management allows water transfers from the Tagus to the Segura River without taking into account regulations that prioritize and protect donor basin users. Through the comparison of reservoir water management and demographic data of two rural areas close to the reservoirs, this article reveals the direct relationship between reservoir management that enables recreational uses with its consequent socioeconomic development and the maintenance of the population in the territory. Consequently, reservoir water management based on the socioeconomic development of reservoir banks is necessary and a priority over transfers to another basin.

     

Link between Lipid Second Messengers and Osmotic Stress in Plants

Plants are subject to different types of stress, which consequently affect their growth and development. They have developed mechanisms for recognizing and processing an extracellular signal. Second messengers are transient molecules that modulate the physiological responses in plant cells under stress conditions. In this sense, it has been shown in various plant models that membrane lipids are substrates for the generation of second lipid messengers such as phosphoinositide, phosphatidic acid, sphingolipids, and lysophospholipids. In recent years, research on lipid second messengers has been moving toward using genetic and molecular approaches to reveal the molecular setting in which these molecules act in response to osmotic stress. In this sense, these studies have established that second messengers can transiently recruit target proteins to the membrane and, therefore, affect protein conformation, activity, and gene expression. This review summarizes recent advances in responses related to the link between lipid second messengers and osmotic stress in plant cells.     

Stereoselective Synthesis and Antiallodynic Activity of 3-Hydroxylated Paroxetines

The design, stereoselective synthesis and in vivo antiallodynic activity of four novel paroxetine analogs, named 3-hydroxy paroxetines (3HPXs), is reported herein. Among the novel synthesized compounds, three showed an antiallodynic effect, while (R,R)-3HPX was found to be 2.5 times more bioactive than (-)-paroxetine itself in neuropathic rats. Consequently, the current investigation not only discloses a novel promising analgesic drug, but also reveals that functionalization at the C3 position of paroxetine could be as effective as the common functionalization at either C4 or within the sesamol group.     

Volatile Emissions Triggered by Multiple Herbivore Damage: Beet Armyworm and Whitefly Feeding on Cotton Plants

Plants are commonly attacked by more than one species of herbivore, potentially causing the induction of multiple, and possibly competing, plant defense systems. In the present paper, we determined the interaction between feeding by the phloem feeder silverleaf whitefly (SWF), Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (B-biotype = B. argentifolii Bellows and Perring), and the leaf-chewing beet armyworm (BAW), Spodoptera exigua Hübner, with regard to the induction of volatile compounds from cotton plants. Compared to undamaged control plants, infestation with SWF did not induce volatile emissions or affect the number and density of pigment glands that store volatile and nonvolatile terpenoid compounds, whereas infestation by BAW strongly induced plant volatile emission. When challenged by the two insect herbivores simultaneously, volatile emission was significantly less than for plants infested with only BAW. Our results suggest that tritrophic level interactions between cotton, BAW, and natural enemies of BAW, that are known to be mediated by plant volatile emissions, may be perturbed by simultaneous infestation by SWF. Possible mechanisms by which the presence of whiteflies may attenuate volatile emissions from caterpillar-damaged cotton plants are discussed.