Assessment of gunshot residue detection on a large variety of surfaces by portable LIBS system for crime scene application.

The application of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in forensic science has garnered increasing attention. The ability to perform real-time, on-site analysis of Gunshot Residue (GSR) particles and potential elements originating from bullets or projectile cores on various surfaces holds the potential to assist in resolving firearms-related cases. This includes facilitating trajectory determination by locating distinct impact points and identifying the types of ammunition used. This study evaluates the utilization of a portable LIBS device for ballistic forensic purposes. Additionally, it focuses on the assessment of potential false positives and false negatives arising from the different materials where the shots have been fired. Since the system performs laser ablation of both surface particles and the substrate, it emphasizes the importance of conducting preliminary screening in an area with the same composition as the impact zone to minimize potential false positives during direct surface analysis. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the capability to detect the constituent elements of characteristic gunshot residue particles (GSR particles): lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), and barium (Ba) adhering to bullets, as well as the principal elements composing the jacket or core of the projectile: lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) through direct analysis, without the need for a sampling kit, on different surfaces such as walls, furniture, or fabrics. Analyses conducted a month after the shots were fired indicate the potential for finding residues in the vicinity of the bullet hole. Analyses conducted a month after the shots were fired indicate the possibility of finding residues in the area around the bullet hole.

Sequence-oriented sensitive analysis for PM2.5 exposure and risk assessment using interactive process mining.

The World Health Organization has estimated that air pollution will be one of the most significant challenges related to the environment in the following years, and air quality monitoring and climate change mitigation actions have been promoted due to the Paris Agreement because of their impact on mortality risk. Thus, generating a methodology that supports experts in making decisions based on exposure data, identifying exposure-related activities, and proposing mitigation scenarios is essential. In this context, the emergence of Interactive Process Mining-a discipline that has progressed in the last years in healthcare-could help to develop a methodology based on human knowledge. For this reason, we propose a new methodology for a sequence-oriented sensitive analysis to identify the best activities and parameters to offer a mitigation policy. This methodology is innovative in the following points: i) we present in this paper the first application of Interactive Process Mining pollution personal exposure mitigation; ii) our solution reduces the computation cost and time of the traditional sensitive analysis; iii) the methodology is human-oriented in the sense that the process should be done with the environmental expert; and iv) our solution has been tested with synthetic data to explore the viability before the move to physical exposure measurements, taking the city of Valencia as the use case, and overcoming the difficulty of performing exposure measurements. This dataset has been generated with a model that considers the city of Valencia's demographic and epidemiological statistics. We have demonstrated that the assessments done using sequence-oriented sensitive analysis can identify target activities. The proposed scenarios can improve the initial KPIs-in the best scenario; we reduce the population exposure by 18% and the relative risk by 12%. Consequently, our proposal could be used with real data in future steps, becoming an innovative point for air pollution mitigation and environmental improvement.

Assessment of Different Niosome Formulations for Optogenetic Applications: Morphological and Electrophysiological Effects.

Gene therapy and optogenetics are becoming promising tools for treating several nervous system pathologies. Currently, most of these approaches use viral vectors to transport the genetic material inside the cells, but viruses present some potential risks, such as marked immunogenicity, insertional mutagenesis, and limited insert gene size. In this framework, non-viral nanoparticles, such as niosomes, are emerging as possible alternative tools to deliver genetic material, avoiding the aforementioned problems. To determine their suitability as vectors for optogenetic therapies in this work, we tested three different niosome formulations combined with three optogenetic plasmids in rat cortical neurons in vitro. All niosomes tested successfully expressed optogenetic channels, which were dependent on the ratio of niosome to plasmid, with higher concentrations yielding higher expression rates. However, we found changes in the dendritic morphology and electrophysiological properties of transfected cells, especially when we used higher concentrations of niosomes. Our results highlight the potential use of niosomes for optogenetic applications and suggest that special care must be taken to achieve an optimal balance of niosomes and nucleic acids to achieve the therapeutic effects envisioned by these technologies.

European Union Cohesion Policy: Socio-Economic Vulnerability of the Regions and the COVID-19 Shock.

The European Union Cohesion Policy for the period 2021-2027 focuses on five goals to make the European Union smarter, greener, more connected, more social and closer to citizens. However, a macroeconomic index is proposed as the predominant criterion for allocating the Structural Funds among regions. In this paper, we hypothesise that it is possible to take into account new, complementary criteria that better reflect citizens' quality of life. To that end, we build a composite index of socio-economic vulnerability for the 233 regions. The results show that following our multidimensional approach for allocating the Structural Funds, there are remarkable differences in the maps of priority regions. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic represents a threat to well-being. Are all regions equally exposed to COVID-19 in terms of their socio-economic vulnerability? To address this issue, we estimate multilevel models which indicate that country characteristics interact with regions' characteristics to alter patterns of vulnerability. More specifically, increases in government expenditures in education and an improvement in political stability would reduce the regional vulnerability or foster the capacity for resilience, whereas increases in poverty would be associated with greater vulnerability. Likewise, more vulnerable regions would be the most exposed to the negative socio-economic effects of COVID-19. However, it is remarkable that several regions of Sweden and Finland would be among the group of regions whose socio-economic vulnerability would be the most negatively affected.

Uso de precauciones estándar durante la atención de pacientes en un programa de especialización / Application of standard precautions during patient care in a specialization program

Introducción: Con el aumento de las enfermedades infectocontagiosas durante la atención en salud, la aplicación de normas de bioseguridad es fundamental para evitar contaminación cruzada. Los estudiantes de programas de Especialización Profesional durante la atención de pacientes deben cumplir una serie de normas denominadas precauciones estándar. Objetivo: Determinar el grado de uso de las precauciones estándar por estudiantes de un programa de especialización durante la atención de pacientes. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo. El tamaño de la muestra fue de 15 estudiantes del Programa de Especialización Profesional en Endodoncia de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Chile, divididos en dos grupos, diurno (8-17 h) y vespertino (18-22 h), que firmaron un consentimiento informado para participar. Fueron evaluados en 4 dimensiones: "lavado de manos", "barreras de protección" (guantes, mascarilla, gorro, lentes protectores, pechera), "control de riesgos de accidentes cortopunzantes y salpicaduras", y "manejo de materiales y superficies". Se estableció un 60 por ciento para determinar cumplimiento mínimo de la norma comparando ambos grupos. Resultados: En el lavado de manos ambos grupos no alcanzaron el cumplimiento mínimo de la norma, con un promedio de 12 por ciento. Para "barreras de protección" ambos grupos lograron el cumplimiento mínimo, con un promedio de 63 por ciento. En "control de riesgos de accidentes cortopunzantes y salpicaduras" y "manejo de superficies", ninguno de los grupos alcanzó el cumplimiento mínimo en estas dimensiones, con un porcentaje de cumplimiento de 50 % y 43 por ciento respectivamente. Conclusiones: La mayoría de los estudiantes del Programa de Especialización Profesional en Endodoncia no aplican correctamente todas las precauciones estándar durante la atención. Es necesario reforzar en los estudiantes los contenidos relacionados con la bioseguridad y aumentar la supervisión y exigencia en su cumplimiento por parte de los docentes(AU)

Introduction: With the increase in infectious diseases during health care, the application of biosecurity standards is essential to avoid cross-contamination. Students in Professional Specialization programs must adhere to a set of standards called standard precautions during patient care. Objective: Determine the degree of application of standard precautions by students of a specialization program during patient care. Materials and methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted. The sample size was 15 students from the Professional Specialization Program in Endodontics of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Chile, divided into two groups, day (8-17 h) and evening (18-22 h), who signed an informed consent to participate. They were evaluated in 4 dimensions: "hand washing", "protective barriers" (gloves, mask, hat, protective lenses, breastplate), "risks control of sharp accidents and splashes", and "handling of materials and surfaces". A 60 percent was established to determine minimum compliance with the standard by comparing both groups. Results: In handwashing, both groups did not reach the minimum compliance with the standard, with an average of 12 percent. For "protective barriers" both groups achieved minimum compliance, with an average of 63 percent. In "risk control of sharp accidents and splashes" and "surface handling", none of the groups reached the minimum compliance in these dimensions, with a compliance percentage of 50 percent and 43 percent respectively. Conclusions: Most students in the Professional Specialization Program in Endodontics do not correctly apply all standard precautions during care. It is necessary to reinforce in the students the contents related to biosecurity and to increase the supervision and demand in its fulfillment by the teachers(AU)

Machine Learning Method for Functional Assessment of Retinal Models.

Challenges in the field of retinal prostheses motivate the development of retinal models to accurately simulate Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs) responses. The goal of retinal prostheses is to enable blind individuals to solve complex, reallife visual tasks. In this paper, we introduce the functional assessment (FA) of retinal models, which describes the concept of evaluating the performance of retinal models on visual understanding tasks. We present a machine learning method for FA: we feed traditional machine learning classifiers with RGC responses generated by retinal models, to solve object and digit recognition tasks (CIFAR-10, MNIST, Fashion MNIST, Imagenette). We examined critical FA aspects, including how the performance of FA depends on the task, how to optimally feed RGC responses to the classifiers and how the number of output neurons correlates with the model's accuracy. To increase the number of output neurons, we manipulated input images - by splitting and then feeding them to the retinal model and we found that image splitting does not significantly improve the model's accuracy. We also show that differences in the structure of datasets result in largely divergent performance of the retinal model (MNIST and Fashion MNIST exceeded 80% accuracy, while CIFAR-10 and Imagenette achieved ∼40%). Furthermore, retinal models which perform better in standard evaluation, i.e. more accurately predict RGC response, perform better in FA as well. However, unlike standard evaluation, FA results can be straightforwardly interpreted in the context of comparing the quality of visual perception.

Monitoring photovoltaic soiling: assessment, challenges, and perspectives of current and potential strategies.

Soiling is the process whereby dirt, dust, and organic/inorganic contaminants deposit on the surface of a photovoltaic (PV) module. It causes significant economic losses and can have a substantial impact on the expansion of photovoltaic technologies for energy generation. The first step to address soiling adequately is monitoring, as soiling mitigation has to be tailored to the specific conditions of each PV system and no universally valid strategy exists. The main focus of this study is to assess the current state of the art in soiling monitoring, in order to help the community better understand the needs and the challenges in this area. The potentials and the limitations of each monitoring method are discussed thoroughly in the paper, with the support of original experimental data. An estimation of the future soiling monitoring market trends is also presented, with a forecasted need for tens of thousands of new soiling monitors every year.

Inflammatory markers IL-1ß and RANK-L assessment after non-vital bleaching: A 3-month follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed IL-1ß and RANK-L levels in vivo and color stability of non-vital teeth bleached using hydrogen (35%) and carbamide (37%) peroxides 3 months after treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty teeth were randomly divided into two groups(n = 25):35% hydrogen peroxide (HP) or 37% carbamide peroxide (CP). Four sessions of intracoronal walking-bleach procedure were performed. IL-1ß and RANK-L levels were assessed from gingival crevicular fluid samples (from three vestibular and three palatines sites) at eight different time-points: at the beginning of the study (baseline), after four sessions of intracanal bleaching, and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months posttreatment. The color variations were visually detected using Vita bleach shade guide (ΔSGU). RESULTS: Significant increases of IL-1ß and RANK-L levels were detected at all time-points (all P < .05) when comparing each time-point to baseline, and a high correlation (>0.8-Spearman) between variables. According the ΔSGU values, a color change of five for HP and four for CP were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Non-vital walking bleach technique promotes an increase in IL-1ß and RANKL levels in periodontal tissues and also, it is maintained until the third-month posttreatment. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The internal whitening of teeth increases the levels of cytokines associated with inflammation and bone resorption 3 months after the whitening procedure is finished; this should warn of possible harmful effects of this whitening technique.

Information Needs Expressed During Patient-Oriented Oncology Consultations: Quantity, Variation, and Barriers.

High-quality oncology consultation includes patient-oriented communication tailored to patients' individualized needs. Common methods used in studies to increase question-asking are prompt lists and coaching pre-consultations. However, our patients were encouraged to ask questions by the physician during their visit. We aimed to estimate the quantity, nature, and variation of their questions when they were invited to ask by their oncologist. During radiotherapy consultations from 2012 to 2016, patient's questions were deliberately elicited and physician-transcribed. We derived mean and median number of questions per patient, variance by patient factors, and a taxonomy of subjects using thematic analysis. Three hundred ninety-six patients asked 2386 questions, median asked per patient = 6 (interquartile range = 4). We found significant variance with age (mean = 6.9 questions for < 60 years, 5.4 for ≥ 70 years) p = 0.018, insurance type (mean = 4.7 for Medicaid, 7.2 for private insurance) p = 0.0004, and tumor site (mean number of questions: skin = 4.6, lymphoma = 5.2, lung = 5.8, breast = 6.1, prostate = 6.3, rectum = 6.7 head and neck = 6.9, brain = 7.0, bladder = 7.2, anus = 8.8, others = 5.8) p = 0.0440. Of the diverse set of 57 topics, the commonest were 1. logistics, 2. radiotherapy details, 3. side effects, 4. diagnosis, and 5. stage and prognosis. Only 17 topics were asked by more > 10% of patients and 40 topics were asked by < 10% of patients. With median of 6 questions, it is practicable to routinely elicit and address individualized information needs. Potential barriers may be older and underinsured patients. The wide variety of topics, often pertaining to individuals' case, suggests that cancer clinicians should take time-out during consultation to elicit patients' questions to accomplish best-practice communication.

Six-Month Assessment of a Hand Prosthesis with Intraneural Tactile Feedback.

OBJECTIVE: Hand amputation is a highly disabling event, which significantly affects quality of life. An effective hand replacement can be achieved if the user, in addition to motor functions, is provided with the sensations that are naturally perceived while grasping and moving. Intraneural peripheral electrodes have shown promising results toward the restoration of the sense of touch. However, the long-term usability and clinical relevance of intraneural sensory feedback have not yet been clearly demonstrated. METHODS: To this aim, we performed a 6-month clinical study with 3 transradial amputees who received implants of transverse intrafascicular multichannel electrodes (TIMEs) in their median and ulnar nerves. After calibration, electrical stimulation was delivered through the TIMEs connected to artificial sensors in the digits of a prosthesis to generate sensory feedback, which was then used by the subjects while performing different grasping tasks. RESULTS: All subjects, notwithstanding their important clinical differences, reported stimulation-induced sensations from the phantom hand for the whole duration of the trial. They also successfully integrated the sensory feedback into their motor control strategies while performing experimental tests simulating tasks of real life (with and without the support of vision). Finally, they reported a decrement of their phantom limb pain and a general improvement in mood state. INTERPRETATION: The promising results achieved with all subjects show the feasibility of the use of intraneural stimulation in clinical settings. ANN NEUROL 2019;85:137-154.

A four-state Markov model of sleep-wakefulness dynamics along light/dark cycle in mice.

Behavioral states alternate between wakefulness (wk), rapid eye movement (rem) and non-rem (nrem) sleep at time scale of hours i.e., light and dark cycle rhythms and from several tens of minutes to seconds (i.e., brief awakenings during sleep). Using statistical analysis of bout duration, Markov chains of sleep-wk dynamics and quantitative EEG analysis, we evaluated the influence of light/dark (ld) changes on brain function along the sleep-wk cycle. Bout duration (bd) histograms and Kaplan-Meier (km) survival curves of wk showed a bimodal statistical distribution, suggesting that two types of wk do exist: brief-wk (wkb) and long-wk (wkl). Light changes modulated specifically wkl bouts, increasing its duration during active/dark period. In contrast, wkb, nrem and rem bd histograms and km curves did not change significantly along ld cycle. Hippocampal eeg of both types of wk were different: in comparison wkb showed a lower spectral power in fast gamma and fast theta bands and less emg tone. After fitting a four-states Markov chain to mice hypnograms, moreover in states transition probabilities matrix was found that: in dark/active period, state-maintenance probability of wkl increased, and probability of wkl to nrem transition decreased; the opposite was found in light period, favoring the hypothesis of the participation of brief wk into nrem-rem intrinsic sleep cycle, and the role of wkl in SWS homeostasis. In conclusion, we propose an extended Markov model of sleep using four stages (wkl, nrem, rem, wkb) as a fully adequate model accounting for both modulation of sleep-wake dynamics based on the differential regulation of long-wk (high gamma/theta) epochs during dark and light phases.

[Assessment of the use of retinography as a screening method for the early diagnosis of chronic glaucoma in Primary Care: Validation for screening in populations with open-angle glaucoma risk factors]. / Valoración del uso de retinografía como método de diagnóstico precoz de glaucoma crónico en atención primaria: validación para el cribado en población con factores de riesgo para glaucoma de ángulo abierto.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine usefulness, validity of retinographies performed in Primary Care as a tool for early diagnosis of open-angle chronic glaucoma (OAG). DESIGN: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study with two blinded parallel observers: 2 general practitioners and 1 ophthalmologist. LOCATION: Urban Primary Care Health Centre, and the Ophthalmology Department outpatient clinic. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 196 patients of both genders, between 40-70years, with diabetes and hypertension, and undiagnosed with glaucoma, were recruited by phone call after checking patient lists. Two patients that did not arrive for their appointments for the ophthalmology tests were considered as losses. MEASUREMENTS: For the quantitative diagnostic variable of glaucoma: Accuracy calculated from the sensitivity and specificity, safety from the positive and negative predictive values and the positive and negative probability ratio; interobserver concordance by Kappa index ratio and the intraclass correlation (IC). RESULTS: The retinography for OAG screening has a sensitivity of 21% (95%CI: 0-43%), a specificity of 93% (95%CI: 89-97%), a negative predictive value of 94% (95%CI: 90-97%), and positive of 20% (95%CI: 0-40%); positive probability ratio of 3.07 (95%CI: 0.98-9.62) and negative 0.84 (95%CI: 0.64-1.11). The IC was 0.653 (95%CI: 0.495-0.769) and kappa index of 0.140 (0.106ET). CONCLUSIONS: According to this proposed model, retinography is not a useful tool for the early diagnosis of OAG in Primary Care, as it is not safe enough. Before it can be used, it would need adjustments for its low sensitivity, and the use other combined tests. The training of general practitioners would also need to be improved.

Assessment of Hg Pollution Released from a WWII Submarine Wreck (U-864) by Hg Isotopic Analysis of Sediments and Cancer pagurus Tissues.

Hg pollution released from the U-864 submarine sunk during WWII and potential introduction of that Hg into the marine food chain have been studied by a combination of quantitative Hg and MeHg determination and Hg isotopic analysis via cold vapor generation multicollector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (CVG-MC-ICP-MS) in sediment and Cancer pagurus samples. The sediment pollution could be unequivocally linked with the metallic Hg present in the wreck. Crabs were collected at the wreck location and 4 nmi north and south, and their brown and claw meat were analyzed separately. For brown meat, the δ202Hg values of the individuals from the wreck location were shifted toward the isotopic signature of the sediment and, thus, the submarine Hg. Such differences were not found for claw meat. The isotope ratio results suggest direct ingestion of metallic Hg by C. pagurus but do not offer any proof for any other introduction of the submarine Hg into the marine food chain.

Readmissions due to acute biliary edematous pancreatitis in patients without cholecystectomy.

AIMS: Analyzing the readmission of patients with acute biliary edematous pancreatitis (ABEP) without cholecystectomy despite a previous episode of mild acute gallstone pancreatitis or lithiasic cholecystitis. Calculating the health costs associated with the non-performance of cholecystectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary hospital from July to November 2014. The study has consecutively included inpatients suffering from ABEP who: a) had suffered a previous episode of mild acute gallstone pancreatitis or cholecystitis at least 2 weeks before readmission; and b) had not undergone cholecystectomy despite the lack of contraindications. RESULTS: During the research period, 9 patients (7 females and 2 males) with a mean age of 65.3 years (standard deviation [SD] 19.2) were readmitted. The median number of days between the previous episode of ABEP or cholecystitis and the readmission was 114 days (interquartile range [IQR] 111.0). Reported median overall length of hospital stay was 10 days (IQR = 2.0). Patients underwent a mean of 2.8 (SD = 1.2) ultrasound scans, 1.3 (SD = 0.9) abdominal and pelvic CT, 0.8 (SD = 1.0) MRCP and 0.2 (SD = 0.4) ERCP. The mean cost per patient for each readmission, including hospital stay (143.0 €/day), Emergency Service (332.31 €) and tests performed was 2,381.70 €/patient. CONCLUSIONS: Not performing a cholecystectomy within two weeks after a first episode of mild ABEP or cholecystitis contributes to patient readmission due to recurrent pancreatitis, resulting in avoidable treatment costs.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for prostate cancer: Rational and reasonable.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), a treatment procedure that uses large doses per fraction, is currently being used to treat prostate cancer with external radiation therapy in 4 to 5 treatments. Published series in the clinical use of SBRT in patients with localized prostate cancer demonstrate high efficacy within the available follow-up time periods. Rectal and sexual toxicity profiles have been favorable compared with other radiation techniques and surgery. Urinary toxicity profiles might be more comparable to those observed with brachytherapy, more pronounced in the acute setting. SBRT is technically more challenging, requiring precise geometric targeting with in-room image guidance. The use of large doses per fraction potentially provides unique biological effects on both tumor and normal tissues. Immunologic responses in normal tissues, local stromal microenvironment, and specific antigen-presenting cells induced by such high doses likely contribute to effective tumor kill. Ultimately, SBRT for prostate cancer offers significant logistical advantages, with increased convenience to patients and decreased overall cost to the health care delivery system.

A low-cost multichannel wireless neural stimulation system for freely roaming animals.

OBJECTIVES: Electrical stimulation of nerve tissue and recording of neural activity are the basis of many therapies and neural prostheses. Conventional stimulation systems have a number of practical limitations, especially in experiments involving freely roaming subjects. Our main objective was to develop a modular, versatile and inexpensive multichannel wireless system able to overcome some of these constraints. APPROACH: We have designed and implemented a new multichannel wireless neural stimulator based on commercial components. The system is small (2 cm × 4 cm × 0.5 cm) and light in weight (9 g) which allows it to be easily carried in a small backpack. To test and validate the performance and reliability of the whole system we conducted several bench tests and in vivo experiments. MAIN RESULTS: The performance and accuracy of the stimulator were comparable to commercial threaded systems. Stimulation sequences can be constructed on-the-fly with 251 selectable current levels (from 0 to 250 µA) with 1 µA step resolution. The pulse widths and intervals can be as long as 65 ms in 2 µs time resolution. The system covers approximately 10 m of transmission range in a regular laboratory environment and 100 m in free space (line of sight). Furthermore it provides great flexibility for experiments since it allows full control of the stimulator and the stimulation parameters in real time. When there is no stimulation, the device automatically goes into low-power sleep mode to preserve battery power. SIGNIFICANCE: We introduce the design of a powerful multichannel wireless stimulator assembled from commercial components. Key features of the system are their reliability, robustness and small size. The system has a flexible design that can be modified straightforwardly to tailor it to any specific experimental need. Furthermore it can be effortlessly adapted for use with any kind of multielectrode arrays.

Robotic assessment of the influence of age on upper-limb sensorimotor function.

PURPOSE: This paper examines the influence of age on several attributes of sensorimotor performance while performing a reaching task. Our hypothesis, based on previous studies, is that aged persons will show differences in one or more of the attributes of sensorimotor performance. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-one subjects (aged 20-80 years) with no known neuromotor disorders of the upper limbs participated in the study. Subjects were asked to grasp the end-effector of a pneumatic robotic device with two degrees of freedom in order to reach peripheral targets (1.0 cm radius), "quickly and accurately", from a centrally located target (1.0 cm radius). Subjects began each trial by holding the hand within the central target for 2000 milliseconds. Afterwards, a peripheral target was illuminated. Then participants were given 3000 milliseconds to complete the movement. When a target was reached, the participant had to return to the central target in order to start a new trial. A total of 64 trials were completed and each peripheral target was illuminated in a random block design. RESULTS: SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS ACCORDING TO AGE: group 1 (age 20-40 years), group 2 (age 41-60 years), and group 3 (age 61-80 years). The Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences (P < 0.05) between groups, except for the variables postural speed in the dominant arm, and postural speed and initial deviation in the non-dominant arm (P > 0.05). These results suggest that age introduces significant differences in upper-limb motor function. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that there are objective differences in sensorimotor function due to age, and that these differences are greater for the dominant arm. Therefore for the assessment of upper-limb function, we should take into account the influence of age. Moreover, these results suggest that robotic systems can provide a new and effective approach in the assessment of sensorimotor function.

Dendritic (phosphine)gold(I) thiolate complexes: assessment of the molecular size through PGSE NMR studies.

The reactions of the tetraphosphine ligand DAB-G0-(PPh2)4 (DAB = 1,4-diaminobutane; G0 = Generation 0) or the octaphosphine ligand DAB-G1-(PPh2)8 (G1 = Generation 1) with the gold precursor [AuCl(tht)] (tht =tetrahydrothiophene) and the corresponding 4-substituted benzenethiolate lead to the (phosphine)gold(I) thiolate complexes [Au4(S-C6H4-X)4[(DAB-G0-(PPh2)4]] (X = F (11), MeO (12), Me (13) and NO2 (14)) and [Au8(S-C6H4-X)8[(DAB-G1-(PPh2)4]] (X = F (15), MeO (16), Me (17) and NO2 (18)). Complexes [Au4Cl4[(DAB-G0-(PPh2)4]] and [Au4(S-C6H4-OMe)4[(DAB-G0-(PPh2)4]] have been characterized by X-ray diffraction studies showing tetranuclear gold complexes in which the P-Au-X (X = Cl or S) structural units do not display aurophilic interactions. PGSE NMR studies of free ligands EN-G0-(PPh2)(4) (EN = 1,2-ethylenediamine), DAB-G0-(PPh2)(4), DAB-G1-(PPh2)8 and the (phosphine)gold(I) thiolate complexes permit the evaluation and comparison of the different molecular sizes depending on the ligand and the dendrimer generation.

Técnica de Trabucco: primer reporte nacional (septiembre de 2005) / Trabucco’s technique: first national report (September 2005)

Se realizó un estudio prospectivo en pacientes operados de hernia inguinal primaria indirecta o reproducida por primera vez, a quienes se aplicó la técnica libre de tensión, de Trabucco. Se creó una base de datos con 335 pacientes, operados entre junio del 2000 y junio del 2004, en los hospitales Comandante Manuel Fajardo y el Hospital General de Santiago de Cuba. El uso de esta técnica quirúrgica mostró gran efectividad en cuanto al número de recidivas (0,5 por ciento) y de complicaciones (14 por ciento), al confort posoperatorio y la rápida incorporación de los pacientes a sus labores cotidianas y a la vida laboral, lo que presupone un índice coste-beneficio favorable (aspecto que no incluimos entre los objetivos propuestos). Pudimos concluir que la técnica de Trabucco es un método novedoso y muy efectivo nuestro medio, pues muestra ventajas iguales a las de las restantes hernioplastias libres de tensión(AU)

A prospective study was undertaken in patients operated on of primary indirect inguinal hernia, or hernia reproduced for the first time. Trabucco´s tension-free technique was applied. A database with 335 patients that underwent surgery from June 2000 to June 2004 at Comandante Manuel Fajardo Hospital and the General Hospital of Santiago de Cuba, was created. The use of this surgical technique showed great effectiveness as regards the number of relapses (0.5 per cent) and complications (14 per cent), the postoperative comfort, and the rapid incorporation of the patients to their daily activities and to work., which presupposes a favorable cost-benefit index (an aspect that was not included among the objectives proposed). It was concluded that Trabucco´s technique is a novel and very efficient method in our setting, since it has the same advantages of the rest of the tension-free hernioplasties(AU)

Use of a national reporting system for occupational injuries in Costa Rica.

Occupational injury surveillance in developing countries may be hindered by the lack of health data infrastructure as well the large numbers of informal-sector workers. The goal of this study was to elucidate the scope of occupational injury in the Monteverde district of Costa Rica using data collected through the national workers social security system. A list of occupational injuries occurring in the district reported to the National Insurance Institute (INS) central office between 1998 and 2002 was taken to the regional INS office, and the original injury reports for the cases were pulled. Specific data on the injuries were collected. There were 184 injuries reported during the five year period. Occupations with the highest number of injuries included production, building and grounds maintenance, and agricultural/forestry/fishing. Descriptive data showed that prevention efforts in this rural region should target food manufacturing, hotels, and construction.