Utility of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio plus C-reactive protein for infection in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the utility of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) plus C-reactive protein (CRP) to differentiate between infection and active disease in patients with SLE. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of a cohort of patients with SLE was carried out. Blood samples from four groups (patients without infection or active disease, patients with infection, patients with active disease, and patients with both infection and active disease) before therapeutic interventions were analyzed. We excluded patients with current malignancy, pregnancy, ischemic heart disease or use of antimicrobials during previous 7 days. Hematological cell count, CRP and cultures were obtained. We constructed receiver operating characteristic curves; sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. RESULTS: Forty patients were included. NLR cut-off ≥6.3 had sensitivity 70%, specificity 85%, PPV 83% and NPV 74% to detect patients with non-viral infections. A CRP cut-off ≥7.5 mg/L had sensitivity 90%, specificity 75%, PPV 78% and NPV 88% to detect infections regardless of SLE activity. Combination of CRP plus NLR improves the specificity to 90% and PPV to 88%. Excluding the group with both infection and active disease, CRP plus NLR expands specificity to 95% and NPV to 90%. CONCLUSION: In our experience, levels of CRP, particularly CRP plus NLR, were useful in differentiating patients with SLE from those with suspected non-viral infection regardless of the activity of the disease.

ß decay of (38)Ca: sensitive test of isospin symmetry-breaking corrections from mirror superallowed 0+ → 0+ transitions.

We report the first branching-ratio measurement of the superallowed 0+→0+ß transition from Ca38. The result, 0.7728(16), leads to an ft value of 3062.3(68) s with a relative precision of ±0.2%. This makes possible a high-precision comparison of the ft values for the mirror superallowed transitions, Ca38→38mK and K38m→Ar38, which sensitively tests the isospin symmetry-breaking corrections required to extract Vud, the up-down quark-mixing element of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix, from superallowed ß decay. The result supports the corrections currently used and points the way to even tighter constraints on CKM unitarity.

Mobbing perception among Intensive Care Unit nurses. / Percepción del mobbing entre el personal de enfermería de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos.

AIM: to determine the perception of intensive care unit nursing staff on mobbing. METHOD: qualitative approach study, Grounded Theory was used, 12intensive care unit nurses of 2public hospitals in our country during December 2017. RESULTS: female sex predominated with an average age of 41.33 years old, mostly married, on night shift and trained a nursing technicians; 4categories emerged: general knowledge about mobbing, the origin of mobbing and its main actors, experiences of mobbing as a victim and as a spectator and the implications of mobbing in working life. DISCUSSION: issues of workplace harassment are sensitive for most health workers, since they deal with private situations and lack of support from superiors when they have been victims of harassment. The evidence shows that one of the reasons why mobbing can be perceived in different ways is because little is known about the real concept, it can be associated with multiple forms of violence and there is heterogeneity in the use of the term. CONCLUSION: the majority of intensive care unit nursing staff have been victims and witnesses of mobbing behaviour, with negative repercussions on their job satisfaction and performance; It is also the cause of constant staff turnover.

Porous Lattice Structure of Femoral Stem for Total Hip Arthroplasty / Estructura de Diseño Poroso por Latice de Vástago Femoral para Artroplastia Total de Cadera

Abstract Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) is one of the surgical procedures carried out satisfactorily in procedures for osteoarthritis and trauma lesions. ATC surgery reduces pain and improves the quality of life of young patients. Therefore, it is of great importance to improve the properties of hip implants, since current implants do not match their lifespan with the life expectancy of a young patient. This is because the solid prostheses that currently exist have a higher Young's modulus, and therefore are too rigid compared to the bone tissue. On the other hand, the cyclic and continuous loads to which the hip joint is subjected in daily activities, can cause loosening and consequent implant loss The present work proposes an implant manufactured with a porous lattice structure, which aims to reduce stiffness, allow bone growth and a more effective mechanical load transfer. Three computational models subjected to static charges were evaluated and compared: 1) healthy femur, 2) implanted femur with a commercial prosthesis, and 3) implanted femur with a prosthesis with lattice structure. For the computational analysis it was decided to perform a static analysis of a person standing on the left foot; a load equivalent to the body weight was applied on the head of the femur, balancing the reaction forces in the system of forces (contact force, body weight, and abductor muscle).. The results were shown in terms of displacement, compression and deformation. The model implanted with a prosthesis with a lattice design presented a slight decrease in displacement, and a decrease in compression and deformation values, which indicated that the proposed design has a better distribution and transport of the loads through its structure.

Resumen La artroplastia total de cadera (ATC) es uno de los tratamientos quirúrgicos llevados a cabo de manera satisfactoria en procedimientos para la osteoartritis y lesiones de trauma. La ATC reduce el dolor y mejora la calidad de vida de los pacientes. Por lo tanto, es de gran importancia mejorar las propiedades de los implantes de cadera, ya que los implantes actuales tienen un tiempo de vida útil y deben cumplir con las expectativas de rehabilitación para los pacientes. Esto se debe a que las prótesis sólidas que existen actualmente tienen un módulo de Young más elevado, y por lo tanto son demasiado rígidas a comparación del tejido óseo. Por otro lado, las cargas cíclicas y continuas a las que se ve sometida la articulación de la cadera en actividades diarias, pueden ser causa del aflojamiento y consecuente pérdida del implante. El presente trabajo propone un implante fabricado con una estructura porosa tipo látice, el cual tiene como objetivos reducir la rigidez, permitir crecimiento óseo y una transferencia de cargas mecánicas más efectiva. Se evaluaron y compararon tres modelos computacionales sometidos a cargas estáticas: 1) fémur sano, 2) fémur implantado con una prótesis comercial, y 3) fémur implantado con una prótesis con estructura látice. Para el modelo computacional se optó por hacer un análisis estático de una persona parada sobre el pie izquierdo; donde se aplicó una carga equivalente del peso corporal sobre la cabeza del fémur, equilibrando las fuerzas de reacción en el sistema de fuerzas (fuerza de contacto, peso corporal, y músculo abductor). Los resultados fueron mostrados en términos de desplazamiento, compresión y deformación. El modelo implantado con una prótesis con un diseño tipo látice presentó una ligera disminución de desplazamiento, y disminución en los valores de compresión y deformación, lo que indicó que el diseño propuesto posee una mejor distribución y transporte de las cargas a través de su estructura.

Programa integral para el cáncer en Cuba: Pautas para la gestión de implementación / Comprehensive program for cancer in Cuba: Guidelines for implementation management

Esta nueva edición sirve de orientación en la planificación y aplicación de intervenciones dirigidas a integrar el control del cáncer a las acciones del sistema nacional de salud, basa su actualización en el programa del médico y enfermera de la familia, y se estructura en paquetes tecnológicos como innovación para incorporar entre otros, los productos de la biotecnología. En ese sentido, organiza la gestión direccionada por el conocimiento, la socialización de las nuevas formas de organización establecidas para el control de la enfermedad.