Academic Performance according to School Coexistence Indices in Students from Public Schools in the South of Chile.

School coexistence is a fundamental aspect for good academic performance. The objective of the study was to identify school coexistence indices, and to analyze differences in academic performance according to these indices in students from public schools in the province of Biobío, Chile. This cross-sectional study involved 730 children (53.8% boys; 12 ± 1.2 years). School coexistence indices as a quality of interpersonal relationships between school bodies, the perception of violence and aggressiveness from a gender perspective, and the perception of levels of safety and unsafety in different school areas as well as academic performance through accumulated final grades (AFG) and grade point averages (GPA) were measured. A total of 40.9% and 41.3% of schoolchildren agreed or strongly agreed that stronger students are violent toward weaker students and boys are violent toward one another, respectively. The school areas most classified as unsafe or very unsafe were the restrooms (20.4%), followed by the playgrounds (10%), and the gym and fields (9.5%). Schoolchildren who classified the relationships within the school bodies as bad, or very bad, presented significantly lower AFG in subjects such as math, language (Spanish), and physical education and health as well as GPA. In the same line, those who perceived greater violence and aggressiveness among peers and higher insecurity in different school areas presented significantly poorer academic performance. In conclusion, students perceived violence and aggressiveness among themselves, and the school areas perceived as unsafe were identified. Furthermore, students who perceived poorer school coexistence indices presented a weaker academic performance.

Genome Sequences of Chikungunya Virus Isolates from Bolivia.

We generated nine coding-complete chikungunya virus genome sequences from blood samples collected during the early 2015 outbreak in Bolivia. Relative to other publicly available chikungunya sequences, the Bolivian samples represent a monophyletic group, suggesting that a single lineage was widely circulating in the country between February and May 2015.

Costo-efectividad de reemplazo valvular aórtico percutáneo vs terapia conservadora en la estenosis aórtica de muy alto riesgo en un centro terciario chileno / Cost-effectiveness of trans aortic valve replacement vs. conservative treatment in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis in a referral hospital center in Santiago, Chile

Introducción: El objetivo fue evaluar la costo-efectividad del reemplazo valvular aórtico percutáneo (RVAP) contra terapia conservadora (TC) en pacientes con estenosis aórtica (EA) severa de muy alto riesgo, en un centro de derivación. Métodos: Los pacientes derivados entre Enero 2013 y Septiembre 2014, considerados de muy alto riesgo y candidatos a RVAP fueron incluidos. El costo de los recursos usados, de las readmisiones y la sobrevida fueron obtenidos para determinar el tiempo de vida ganado y la relación incremental de costo-efectividad (RICE) del RVAP Resultados: El grupo estudiado quedó compuesto por 39 pacientes, con edad promedio 82±7 años, más frecuentemente mujeres (74.4%), con elevado perfil de riesgo (STS score 11.4±5.6). Diecisiete pacientes (43.6%) fueron sometidos a RVAP y 22 (56.4%) a TC. Durante el seguimiento se registraron 25 rehospitalizaciones en el grupo de TC, a un costo promedio de $4.195.073 por paciente (7,027 dólares). Todos los pacientes sometidos a RAVP recibieron con éxito una prótesis Sapien XT y fueron egresados vivos. El costo promedio estimado del RVAP fue $20.000.000 (33,500 dólares). La sobrevida media fue de 54.5% (10 eventos) en grupo TC contra 94.1% (una muerte) en el grupo RVAP [285±204 días/seguimiento] (p<0.001). Así se pudo estimar que RVAP se asoció a un incremento de vida de al menos un año, lo cual resultó en una RICE de 26,470 dólares/año de vida ganado. Conclusión: El RAVP resultó costo-efectivo comparado con la TC en pacientes portadores de EA severa de muy alto riego tratados en la realidad de un centro de derivación nacional.

Aim: to evaluate cost-effectiveness of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) compared to conservative treatment in patients with very high risk severe aortic stenosis (AS) referred to a tertiary center in Santiago, Chile Methods: Patients with high surgical risk and severe AS referred between January 2013 and September 2014 were included. Cost of resources, readdmissions, life-years gained and incremental cost-effectiveness of TAVI were calculated Results: Thirty-nine patients were finally included. Mean age was 82±7 years old, more commonly women (74%) with a mean STS score of 11.4±5.6 that confirmed their high-risk. Seventeen patients (43.6%) had TAVR and 22 (56.4%) underwent conventional medical therapy. All patients in the TAVR group - treated with Sapien XT® device - survived the procedure and were discharged alive. Mean cost of the procedure was approximately US$ 33,500. After a mean follow-up period of 285±204 days, mean survival rate in the control group was 54.5% (10 deaths) as compared to 94.1% in the TAVR group (1 death, p<0.001). Therefore, a gain of al least one year was obtained with TAVR resulting in an incremental cost effectiveness of US$ 26.470 per year of life gained. Conclusion: TAVR resulted costly-effective compared to conventional therapy in patients with severe AS and high surgical risk in a Chilean referral center.

Analysis of ergonomics conditions of a brand of mattress and pillows. University-industry project, Medellín-Colombia.

This project presents an analysis of the ergonomic conditions of three types of mattress and three types of pillow. The products are manufactured by a Colombian company which specializes in flexible polyurethane foam and other products designed for rest and relaxation. The project was developed through the University - Industry relationship: a strategic partnership based on the knowledge and strengths of each component. The conceptual theories that underpin the Ergonomics Research Division of the Design Studies Research Group (GED) provided the methodological approach for the project: the characteristics, the requirements and the relationships that are established between the components that constitute the User - Product - Context system (basic principles of the Ergonomics - Design relationship). An important factor in the project was the conception and measurement of comfort. Comfort can be measured on an objective level (quantitative measurement), and on a subjective level (a user's particular perceptions and tastes). What constitutes 'comfort' can vary from person to person, thus making the identification of criteria for the standardization of consumer products problematic. This project enabled design recommendations to be made to the Company vis-à-vis future proposals for mattress and pillow products. This experience of applied research was carried out by professors and students from the Faculty of Industrial Design at the UPB in Medellín, Colombia.

Valor diagnóstico de los anticuerpos anti-Ro (SS-A) en lupus eritematoso sistémico ANA positivo / Diagnostic value of anti-Ro(SS-A) antibodies in ANA-positive systemic lupus erythematosus

Objetivo: Definir la participación de los anticuerpos anti-Ro(SS-A) en las lesiones del lupus eritematoso sistémico (LES). Material y método: Se compararon características demográficas, clínicas y serológicas en 33 pacientes con LES positivos y negativos para los anticuerpos anti-Ro(SS-A). Los anticuerpos antinucleares totales (ANA) fueron determinados por inmunofluorescencia indirecta sobre cortes de hígado de rata; las especificidades antinucleares anti-Ro(SS-A), anti-Sm/RNP, anti-Scl-70, y anti-Jo-1 fueron evaluados por ensayos inmunoenzimáticos, y los anti-DNA de doble cadena (dc) por radioinmunoanálisis. También se determinó la presencia del factor reumatoide (FR, aglutinación de látex), y de los inmunocomplejos circulantes por los métodos de precipitación con polietilenglicol (ICC-PEG) y el inmunoenzimático en base a la unión de C1q (ICC-C1q). Resultados: Todos los pacientes resultaron positivos para los ANA y el 30.3 por ciento(10/33) fueron positivos para los anticuerpos anti-Ro(SS-A). La distribución de los anticuerpos anti-Ro(SS-A) no dependió de la edad, sexo y raza de los pacientes con LES. El daño renal histológico, las lesiones cutáneas, las citopenias hematológicas, la artritis y los síntomas neurológicos no mostraron asociación con la presencia de los anticuerpos anti-Ro(SS-A). Los anti-Ro(SS-A) tampoco resultaron indicativos de la actividad de la enfermedad lúpica. En el plano serólogico, se encontró correlación positiva entre los anticuerpos anti-Ro(SS-A) y las cifras de anticuerpos anti-DNAdc (t = -3.65 p< 0.01), y la presencia de ICC-PEG (x2 = 3.94 p< 0.05). Conclusiones: La relación encontrada entre los anticuerpos anti-Ro(SS-A) y los anti-DNAdc subraya el papel diagnóstico de los anti-Ro(SS-A) para el LES, aunque su presencia no se acompaña de caracteristicas clínicas distintivas del LES en pacientes ANA positivos.