Progress in Plasmonic Sensors as Monitoring Tools for Aquaculture Quality Control.

Aquaculture is an expanding economic sector that nourishes the world's growing population due to its nutritional significance over the years as a source of high-quality proteins. However, it has faced severe challenges due to significant cases of environmental pollution, pathogen outbreaks, and the lack of traceability that guarantees the quality assurance of its products. Such context has prompted many researchers to work on the development of novel, affordable, and reliable technologies, many based on nanophotonic sensing methodologies. These emerging technologies, such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR), localised SPR (LSPR), and fibre-optic SPR (FO-SPR) systems, overcome many of the drawbacks of conventional analytical tools in terms of portability, reagent and solvent use, and the simplicity of sample pre-treatments, which would benefit a more sustainable and profitable aquaculture. To highlight the current progress made in these technologies that would allow them to be transferred for implementation in the field, along with the lag with respect to the most cutting-edge plasmonic sensing, this review provides a variety of information on recent advances in these emerging methodologies that can be used to comprehensively monitor the various operations involving the different commercial stages of farmed aquaculture. For example, to detect environmental hazards, track fish health through biochemical indicators, and monitor disease and biosecurity of fish meat products. Furthermore, it highlights the critical issues associated with these technologies, how to integrate them into farming facilities, and the challenges and prospects of developing plasmonic-based sensors for aquaculture.

Excel Methods to Design and Validate in Microelectronics (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor, CMOS) for Biomedical Instrumentation Application.

CMOS microelectronics design has evolved tremendously during the last two decades. The evolution of CMOS devices to short channel designs where the feature size is below 1000 nm brings a great deal of uncertainty in the way the microelectronics design cycle is completed. After the conceptual idea, developing a thinking model to understand the operation of the device requires a good "ballpark" evaluation of transistor sizes, decision making, and assumptions to fulfill the specifications. This design process has iterations to meet specifications that exceed in number of the available degrees of freedom to maneuver the design. Once the thinking model is developed, the simulation validation follows to test if the design has a good possibility of delivering a successful prototype. If the simulation provides a good match between specifications and results, then the layout is developed. This paper shows a useful open science strategy, using the Excel software, to develop CMOS microelectronics hand calculations to verify a design, before performing the computer simulation and layout of CMOS analog integrated circuits. The full methodology is described to develop designs of passive components, as well as CMOS amplifiers. The methods are used in teaching CMOS microelectronics to students of electronic engineering with industrial partner participation. This paper describes an exhaustive example of a low-voltage operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) design which is used to design an instrumentation amplifier. Finally, a test is performed using this instrumentation amplifier to implement a front-end signal conditioning device for CMOS-MEMS biomedical applications.

Evaluation of Emergency First Response's Competency in Undergraduate College Students: Enhancing Sustainable Medical Education in the Community for Work Occupational Safety.

Worldwide, people's quality of health has been decreasing due to bad eating habits that have generated an increase in diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, overweight, as well as an increase in hours of the daily workday and stress. This situation can generate sudden illness and work accidents where the need to have knowledge in emergency first response (EFR) is necessary for all. Unfortunately, workshops and courses to certify EFR individuals are usually taught only to healthcare professionals. Therefore, to address this need a EFR project has been developed at the Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEC) which consists of a multidisciplinary challenge to train, certify, and evaluate students' competency as "emergency first responders" in medical emergencies and healthcare awareness. This EFR project has been performed for one week, every year since 2015, and constitutes a joint venture among academic departments, faculty, and industrial/government institutions, which work together in multidisciplinary projects, providing a source of innovative proposals. The EFR project at TEC has provided instruction and certification for 966 students between 2015 to 2019 and this study has analyzed results considering a sample size of 197 participants. The combination of exam evaluation, medical emergency skills verification, and project proposal results indicate that most students reach skill levels between 2 and 3 in EFR competency after successfully completing the program, regardless of their year of study or the undergraduate program they are enrolled on. This evaluation emphasizes the compromise of the institution and its students in preparation for new living under sanitary conditions for pandemic conditions such as COVID-19.

The Potential Use of a Thin Film Gold Electrode Modified with Laccases for the Electrochemical Detection of Pyrethroid Metabolite 3-Phenoxybenzaldehyde.

There is increasing interest in developing portable technologies to detect human health threats through hybrid materials that integrate specific bioreceptors. This work proposes an electrochemical approach for detecting 3-Phenoxybenzaldehyde (3-PBD), a biomarker for monitoring human exposure to pyrethroid pesticides. The biosensor uses laccase enzymes as an alternative recognition element by direct oxidation of 3-PBD catalysts by the enzyme onto thin-film gold electrodes. The thin-film gold electrode modified by the immobilized laccase was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. The detection method's electrochemical parameters were established, obtaining a linear range of 5 t 50 µM, the limit of detection, and quantification of 0.061 and 2.02 µM, respectively. The proposed biosensor's analytical performance meets the concentration of pyrethroids detected in natural environments, reflecting its potential as an alternative analytical tool for monitoring the pyrethroid insecticide's presence.

A Novel Enzyme-Based SPR Strategy for Detection of the Antimicrobial Agent Chlorophene.

Chlorophene is an important antimicrobial agent present in disinfectant products which has been related to health and environmental effects, and its detection has been limited to chromatographic techniques. Thus, there is a lack of research that attempts to develop new analytical tools, such as biosensors, that address the detection of this emerging pollutant. Therefore, a new biosensor for the direct detection of chlorophene in real water is presented, based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and using a laccase enzyme as a recognition element. The biosensor chip was obtained by covalent immobilization of the laccase on a gold-coated surface through carbodiimide esters. The analytical parameters accomplished resulted in a limit of detection and quantification of 0.33 mg/L and 1.10 mg/L, respectively, fulfilling the concentrations that have already been detected in environmental samples. During the natural river's measurements, no significant matrix effects were observed, obtaining a recovery percentage of 109.21% ± 7.08, which suggested that the method was suitable for the fast and straightforward analysis of this contaminant. Finally, the SPR measurements were validated with an HPLC method, which demonstrated no significant difference in terms of precision and accuracy, leading to the conclusion that the biosensor reflects its potential as an alternative analytical tool for the monitoring of chlorophene in aquatic environments.

Phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of extracts of the peruvian peppertree Schinus areira L. from Chile.

The Andean tree Schinus areira L. has multiple traditional uses, from the treatment of bronchitis and rheumatic diseases to menstrual cycle regulation and wound healing. With reported hypotensive, analgesic, antitumoral and anti-inflammatory properties, it acts predominantly against diseases related to oxidative stress. This study focuses on the antioxidant activity and phytochemical profile of the extracts of Schinus areira L. Serial extraction of the fruits was performed both by maceration and by Soxhlet. Total phenols and flavonoids were measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and AlCl3, respectively. In vitro antioxidant activity was determined by FRAP and DPPH. Results were similar for both extraction methods. Primary metabolites detected included carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids; secondary metabolites included tannins, flavonoids, saponins, steroids and triterpenes. Antioxidant activity was confirmed for ethyl acetate, methanolic and aqueous extracts. The methanolic extract had both the highest polyphenol content (>195 mg GAE/ g dry weight) and the highest antioxidant activity [EC50 > 476 µg/mL; >273 mg AA/g dry weight (DPPH); >301 mg AA/ g dry weight (FRAP)]. The extract does not produce macrophage cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7, which is indicated by an average cytotoxicity of 2% over 24 h. Our study serves as a starting point for future research on the pharmacological properties of Schinus areira L.

Electrochemical Instrumentation of an Embedded Potentiostat System (EPS) for a Programmable-System-On-a-Chip.

Under the main features required on portable devices in electrochemical instrumentation is to have a small size, low power consumption, economically affordable and precision in the measurements. This paper describes the development of a programmable Embedded Potentiostat System (EPS) capable of performing electrochemical sensing over system-on-a-chip platforms. Furthermore, the study explains a circuit design and develops some validation of the entire system. The hardware validation is performed by electrochemical experiments such as Double Step Chronoamperometry (DSC), Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV); moreover, a comparison of the experimental signals between a commercial potentiostat and the EPS was done by analysis of errors on the response signal. Results illustrate that the EPS is capable of handling currents in the range of absolute values of 86.44 to 3000 nA and having control voltages in the range of ±2 V. The device can support from 50 to 2000 samples per second. The EPS capabilities were compared with other compact potentiostats. The programmable EPS is an original approach which hugely reduces the hardware complexity and leads the way to create new applications for Point-of-Care or industrial developments with a reusable full electronics module.

Evaluation of the recombinant antigens B2t and 2B2t, compared with hydatid fluid, in IgG-ELISA and immunostrips for the diagnosis and follow up of CE patients.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is one of the most widespread helminthic zoonoses and is caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus complex. CE diagnosis and monitoring primarily rely on imaging techniques, complemented by serology. This is usually approached by the detection of IgG antibodies against hydatid fluid (HF), but the use of this heterogeneous antigenic mixture results in a variable percentage of false positive and negative results, and has shown to be useless for follow-up due to the long persistence of anti-HF antibodies in cured patients. To improve test performances and standardization, a number of recombinant antigens mainly derived from HF have been described, among them the B2t and 2B2t antigens. The performance of these antigens in the diagnosis and follow up of patients with CE has been so far evaluated on a limited number of samples. Here, we evaluated the performances of tests based on B2t and 2B2t recombinant antigens compared to HF in IgG-ELISA and immunochromatography (IC) for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with CE in a retrospective cohort study. A total of 721 serum samples were collected: 587 from 253 patients with CE diagnosed by ultrasonography (US), 42 from patients with alveolar echinococcosis and 92 from healthy donors from Salamanca (Spain). The highest overall sensitivity was obtained with HF in ELISA (85.5%), followed by IC containing HF and 2B2t-HF (83.0% and 78.2%, respectively). The lowest sensitivity was obtained with B2t and 2B2t in ELISA (51.8%). The highest specificity was obtained with IC containing 2B2t-HF (100%), and the lowest with HF-ELISA (78.0%). The lowest cross-reactivity with sera from patients with alveolar echinococcosis was detected with the recombinant antigens in ELISA (9.5% - 16.7%) and the highest with the HF-IC (64.3%). The results of B2t and 2B2t-ELISA were influenced by cyst stage, as classified by US according to the WHO-Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis (WHO-IWGE), with low sensitivity for inactive (CE4 and CE5) cysts, and by the drug treatment, with higher sensitivity in patients after drug treatment compared with patients not subjected to drug treatment. The two recombinant antigens in ELISA provided promising results for monitoring patients in follow-up, although their use is limited to patients with positive serology against them at the beginning of the follow-up. Potential biological reasons behind the low sensitivity of the recombinant antigens and possible strategies to enhance the performance of CE serology are discussed.

Emerging microfluidic devices for cancer cells/biomarkers manipulation and detection.

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are active participants in the metastasis process and account for ∼90% of all cancer deaths. As CTCs are admixed with a very large amount of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets in blood, CTCs are very rare, making their isolation, capture, and detection a major technological challenge. Microfluidic technologies have opened-up new opportunities for the screening of blood samples and the detection of CTCs or other important cancer biomarker-proteins. In this study, the authors have reviewed the most recent developments in microfluidic devices for cells/biomarkers manipulation and detection, focusing their attention on immunomagnetic-affinity-based devices, dielectrophoresis-based devices, surface-plasmon-resonance microfluidic sensors, and quantum-dots-based sensors.

Validation of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test in university students: AUDIT and AUDIT-C. / Validación del test para la identificación de trastornos por uso de alcohol en población universitaria: AUDIT y AUDIT-C.

The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT and AUDIT-C) in order to detect problems related to the consumption of alcohol in the university population. The sample consisted of 1309 students.A Weekly Alcohol Consumption Diary was used as a gold standard; Cronbach's Alpha, the Kappa index, Spearman's correlation coefficient and exploratory factor analysis were applied for diagnostic reliability and validity, with ROC curves used to establish the different cut-off points. Binge Drinking (BD) episodes were found in 3.9% of men and 4.0% of women with otherwise low-risk drinking patterns. AUDIT identified 20.1% as high-risk drinkers and 6.4% as drinkers with physical-psychological problems and probable alcohol dependence.Cronbach's alpha of 0.75 demonstrates good internal consistency. The best cut-off points for high-risk drinking students were 8 for males and 6 for females. As for problem drinkers and probable ADS, 13 was the best cut-off point for both sexes. In relation to AUDIT-C, 5 and 4 were the best cut-off points for males and females with high-risk patterns, respectively. The criterion validity of AUDIT and AUDIT-C to detect binge drinking episodes was found to have a moderate K value. The results obtained show that AUDIT has good psychometric properties to detect early alcohol abuse disorders in university students; however, it is recommended that the cut-off point be reduced to 8 in men. AUDIT-C improves its predictive value by raising the cut-off point by one unit. Items 2 and 3 should be reviewed to increase its predictive value for BD.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar las propiedades psicométricas de los cuestionarios Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT y AUDIT-C) para la detección de problemas por consumo de alcohol en universitarios. Participaron 1309 estudiantes, utilizando el Diario de consumo semanal como patrón de referencia y para el análisis de fiabilidad y validez el alfa de Cronbach, análisis exploratorio, índice kappa, coeficiente de correlación de Spearman y curvas ROC para los diferentes puntos de corte. Un 3,9% de hombres y un 4% de mujeres con consumo de riesgo bajo presentaba consumo intensivo de alcohol (BD).AUDIT identificó un 20,1% de Bebedor de riesgo y un 6,4% de Bebedor con problemas físico-psíquicos y probable dependencia alcohólica. El instrumento presentó un alfa-Cronbach de 0,75 demostrando buena consistencia interna. Los puntos de corte óptimos fueron ocho para Bebedor de riesgo en hombres y seis para mujeres; trece puntos para Bebedor con problemas físico-psíquicos y probable dependencia alcohólica en ambos sexos; con AUDIT-C, fueron para Consumo de riesgo cinco para hombres y cuatro para mujeres. La validez de criterio para detectar consumo intensivo de alcohol (BD) con ambas versiones presentó un valor K moderado. Los resultados indican que AUDIT cuenta con adecuadas propiedades psicométricas para detectar precozmente problemas de consumo de alcohol en universitarios, recomendándose reducir su punto de corte a ocho en varones. El AUDIT-C mejora su poder predictivo aumentando en una unidad el punto de corte. Se recomienda revisar los ítems 2 y 3 para aumentar el valor predictivo del BD.

Validación del test para la identificación de trastornos por uso de alcohol en población universitaria: AUDIT y AUDIT-C / Validation of the alcohol use disorders identification test in university students: AUDIT and AUDIT-C

El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar las propiedades psicométricas de los cuestionarios Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT y AUDIT-C) para la detección de problemas por consumo de alcohol en universitarios. Participaron 1309 estudiantes, utilizando el Diario de consumo semanal como patrón de referencia y para el análisis de fiabilidad y validez el alfa de Cronbach, análisis exploratorio, índice kappa, coeficiente de correlación de Spearman y curvas ROC para los diferentes puntos de corte. Un 3,9% de hombres y un 4% de mujeres con consumo de riesgo bajo presentaba consumo intensivo de alcohol (BD). AUDIT identificó un 20,1% de Bebedor de riesgo y un 6,4% de Bebedor con problemas físico-psíquicos y probable dependencia alcohólica. El instrumento presentó un alfa-Cronbach de 0,75 demostrando buena consistencia interna. Los puntos de corte óptimos fueron ocho para Bebedor de riesgo en hombres y seis para mujeres; trece puntos para Bebedor con problemas físico-psíquicos y probable dependencia alcohólica en ambos sexos; con AUDIT-C, fueron para Consumo de riesgo cinco para hombres y cuatro para mujeres. La validez de criterio para detectar consumo intensivo de alcohol (BD) con ambas versiones presentó un valor K moderado. Los resultados indican que AUDIT cuenta con adecuadas propiedades psicométricas para detectar precozmente problemas de consumo de alcohol en universitarios, recomendándose reducir su punto de corte a ocho en varones. El AUDIT-C mejora su poder predictivo aumentando en una unidad el punto de corte. Se recomienda revisar los ítems 2 y 3 para aumentar el valor predictivo del BD

The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT and AUDIT-C) in order to detect problems related to the consumption of alcohol in the university population. The sample consisted of 1309 students. A Weekly Alcohol Consumption Diary was used as a gold standard; Cronbach’s Alpha, the Kappa index, Spearman’s correlation coefficient and exploratory factor analysis were applied for diagnostic reliability and validity, with ROC curves used to establish the different cut-off points. Binge Drinking (BD) episodes were found in 3.9% of men and 4.0% of women with otherwise low-risk drinking patterns. AUDIT identified 20.1% as high-risk drinkers and 6.4% as drinkers with physical-psychological problems and probable alcohol dependence. Cronbach’s alpha of 0.75 demonstrates good internal consistency. The best cut-off points for high-risk drinking students were 8 for males and 6 for females. As for problem drinkers and probable ADS, 13 was the best cut-off point for both sexes. In relation to AUDIT-C, 5 and 4 were the best cut-off points for males and females with high-risk patterns, respectively. The criterion validity of AUDIT and AUDIT-C to detect binge drinking episodes was found to have a moderate K value. The results obtained show that AUDIT has good psychometric properties to detect early alcohol abuse disorders in university students; however, it is recommended that the cut-off point be reduced to 8 in men. AUDIT-C improves its predictive value by raising the cut-off point by one unit. Items 2 and 3 should be reviewed to increase its predictive value for BD

Modificación de parámetros de salud en trabajadores expuestos a frío / Modificación of health parameters in workers exposed to cold

Objetivos: El trabajo en ambientes fríos puede provocar daños a la salud de los trabajadores y ser causa de cuadros de incapacidad temporal. El propósito de este trabajo fue hallar alteraciones en diferentes parámetros de salud (analíticos, tensión arterial y número de infecciones). Sujetos y método: Estudio de cohortes comparando dos poblaciones de 75 trabajadores que realizaban tareas similares en sus puestos de trabajo (principalmente corte y envasado de productos perecederos), en unas condiciones parecidas a excepción de la exposición laboral a frío del primer grupo, realizando el cálculo de tres parámetros para cada efecto de la exposición al frío: Riesgo relativo, Límites de Confianza y grado de significación estadística (p). el nivel de significación se estableció para un valor de p menor de 0,05. Resultados: se hallaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre expuestos y no expuestos para las variables presión arterial diastólica (RR=1,12; I. C (95%)= 1,01-1,23; y P = 0,03) y número de infecciones padecidas (P= 0,0486). No hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el resto de variables. Conclusiones:; En este estudio , la exposición a temperaturas de 5 a 10 ºC ocasiona en el grupo de trabajadores expuestos una disminución de las cifras de presión arterial diastólica y un aumento en el número de infecciones padecidas con respecto al grupo control no expuesto (AU)

Objective: working in a cold environment can cause damage to the health of workers. The objective was to find changes in health parameters (analytical, blood pressure and number of infections). Subject and methods: Cohort study comparing two populations of 75 workers performing similar tasks in their jobs (mainly cutting and packaging of perishable products), in similar conditions except for occupational exposure to cold in the first group. It was obtained three parameters calculated for each effect on cold exposure: relative risk, confidence limits and level of statistical significance (p). The significance level was set to a value of p<0,05. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between exposed an unexposed workers in diastolic blood pressure variables (RR = 1.12, CI (95%) = 1,01-1,23; and P=0,03) and number of infections suffered (P=0,0486). There was no statistically significant differences in other variables. Conclusion: In this study, the exposure to temperatures from to 10ºC causes in the group of workers exposed a decrease in diastolic blood pressure levels and an increase in the number of suffered infections compared to the unexposed control group (AU)

Characterization of interdigitated electrode structures for water contaminant detection using a hybrid voltage divider and a vector network analyzer.

Interdigitated capacitive electrode structures have been used to monitor or actuate over organic and electrochemical media in efforts to characterize biochemical properties. This article describes a method to perform a pre-characterization of interdigitated electrode structures using two methods: a hybrid voltage divider (HVD) and a vector network analyzer (VNA). Both methodologies develop some tests under two different conditions: free air and bi-distilled water media. Also, the HVD methodology is used for other two conditions: phosphate buffer with laccase (polyphenoloxidase; EC 1.10.3.2) and contaminated media composed by a mix of phosphate buffer and 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS). The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a characterization methodology using both, a hybrid voltage divider and VNA T-# network impedance models of the interdigitated capacitive electrode structure that will provide a shunt RC network of particular interest in detecting the amount of contamination existing in the water solution for the media conditions. This methodology should provide us with the best possible sensitivity in monitoring water contaminant media characteristics. The results show that both methods, the hybrid voltage divider and the VNA methodology, are feasible in determining impedance modeling parameters. These parameters can be used to develop electric interrogation procedures and devices such as dielectric characteristics to identify contaminant substances in water solutions.

Risk factors for high-risk human papillomavirus infection and cofactors for high-grade cervical disease in Peru.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between potential risk factors for high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection and cofactors for cervical intraepithelial lesions grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) in women attending cervical screening in Amazonian Peru. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants completed a risk factor questionnaire before screening. High-risk human papillomavirus infection was determined by Hybrid Capture II. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between potential risk factors for HR-HPV infection and between cofactors and risk of CIN2+ among women with HR-HPV infection. RESULTS: Screening and questionnaires were completed by 5435 women aged 25 to 49 years. The prevalence of HR-HPV was 12.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.8%-13.6%) and decreased by age. Early age at first sexual intercourse and several lifetime sexual partners increased the risk of having HR-HPV (age-adjusted odds ratio [AOR] of age at first sexual intercourse <18 vs ≥20, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-2.0; AOR of ≥5 lifetime sexual partners vs 1, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.4-3.2). Among women with HR-HPV infection, those with no schooling (AOR relative to 1-5 years of schooling, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.3-8.3) and those with parity ≥3 (AOR relative to parity <3, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.4-4.9) were at increased risk of CIN2+. The effect of parity was stronger for cancer (AOR of parity ≥3 vs <3, 8.3; 95% CI, 1.0-65.6). Further analysis showed that the association between parity and CIN2+ was restricted to women younger than 40. Most women (83%) had previously been screened. Sixty-four percent of CIN2+ cases detected in this study occurred in women who reported having had a Papanicolaou test in the previous 3 years. Only 4 of 20 cancers were detected in women never screened before. Having had a previous abnormal Papanicolaou test increased the risk of CIN2+ (OR, 16.1; 95% CI, 6.2-41.9). CONCLUSION: Among women with HR-HPV, high parity (in young women), no schooling, lack of good-quality screening and of adequate follow-up care are the main risk factors for high-grade cervical disease in Peru.

Isolation of a novel Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans serotype b bacteriophage capable of lysing bacteria within a biofilm.

A bacteriophage specific for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans serotype b, able to kill the bacterium within a biofilm, was isolated. Random mutagenesis of this phage rendered a bacteriophage able to kill 99% of the bacteria within a biofilm. This is the first report of a biocontrol experiment against A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Factores psicosociales motivacionales y estado de salud / Motivational psychosocial factors and health status

Es conocida la existencia de organizaciones (como las Organizaciones de Servicio Humano (OSH)) caracterizadas por las demandas emocionales y psicosociales que exigen los profesionales que allí trabajan,impactando gravemente en su productividad, calidad de vida y salud mental. Ello también representa consecuencias negativas para los usuarios de dichos servicios. Por lo tanto, resulta necesario identificar factores psicosociales relacionados con el estado de salud mental en profesionales de OSH, objetivo del presente trabajo. Para ello, se evaluaron profesionales Socio-sanitarios (Enfermería, Auxiliares de Clínica) y de la Educación (Técnicos superiores en Educación Infantil, Psicólogos, Profesores, Educadores, Trabajadores Sociales, etc.) de diferentes centros pertenecientes a la Administración Pública de Andalucía.La evaluación de los factores psicosociales de motivación del trabajador se realizó mediante una escala elaborada “ex profeso”. La evaluación del estado de salud mental se realizó con el cuestionario de Goldberg de 28 ítems (GHQ-28). Los resultados mostraron que el 79.2% de los participantes presentaban más de 7 puntos en la GHQ-28. Entre los factores motivacionales más vinculantes encontramos (por orden de mayora menor): p46 (“Mi desarrollo profesional me permite conciliar mi vida personal”, r= -0.33), p13 (“Trabajartiene más ventajas que inconvenientes”, r= -0.314), p18 (“Me siento partícipe de los éxitos y fracaso de los resultados de mi trabajo”, r= -0.282), p25 (“Me siento parte de un equipo”), p32 (“El superior soluciona los problemas de una manera eficaz”, r= -0.269), p26 (“Me resulta fácil expresar mis opiniones en mi lugar de trabajo”, r= -0.262) (AU)

We know the existence of organizations (Human Service Organizations-HSO henceforth) characterizedby emotional and psychosocial demands that require professionals who work there, seriously impacting on their productivity, quality of life and mental health. This also represents a negative impact on users of thoseservices. Therefore, it is necessary to identify psychosocial factors associated with mental health professionalsHSO, the objective of this work. We evaluated professionals in Health (Nursing, Clinical Assistants) and Education (Senior technicians in Early Childhood Education, Psychologists, Teachers, Educators, SocialWorkers, etc.) belonging to different centers of Andalusia Public Administration.The evaluation of psychosocial factors of worker motivation was performed using a scale developed by“ourselves”. The assessment of a mental health questionnaire was conducted with the 28-item Goldberg(GHQ-28). The results showed that 79.2% of the participants had more than 7 points in the GHQ-28. Among the motivational factors found to be more binding (in order of highest to lowest): p46 ( “My professional development allows me to reconcile my personal life”, r = -0.33), p13 ( “Work has more advantages than disadvantages”, r=-0,314), p18 ( “I am privy to the successes and failures of the results of my work”, r = -0,282),p25 (“I feel part of a team), p32 (“ The boss solves the problems effectively “, r = -0,269), p26 (“ I can easily express my opinions in my workplace “, r = -0,262).We conclude that psychosocial variables account for motivational factors to be considered in defining the health status of HSO professionals (AU)

Is magnification necessary to confirm visual inspection of cervical abnormalities? A randomized trial in Peru.

OBJECTIVES: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in developing countries. This study was designed to evaluate whether visual inspection with acetic acid and magnification (VIAM) improved confirmation of cervical lesions as compared to confirmation with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) without magnification when used by physicians. METHODS: From April-December 2004, women in San Martin, Peru, who were referred as VIA-positive by an "obstetriz" (a professional midwife with 6 years of university training) were randomized into two groups for confirmatory screening by a physician using either VIA or VIAM with an AviScope, a hand-held 4x magnification scope with a green light source. The reference standard for the presence or absence of cervical neoplasia was colposcopy and directed biopsy, as required. RESULTS: A total of 358 women participated in the study; 161 had a confirmatory examination with VIAM and 159 with VIA. Sensitivity for low- or high-grade lesions was 68% with VIA and 77% with VIAM, and specificity was 62% with VIA and 63% with VIAM; however, these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: For settings where physician confirmation of cervical abnormalities identified through visual inspection is required and available, this study demonstrates that VIAM had no significant advantage over VIA.

Is magnification necessary to confirm visual inspection of cervical abnormalities? A randomized trial in Peru

OBJECTIVES: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in developing countries. This study was designed to evaluate whether visual inspection with acetic acid and magnification (VIAM) improved confirmation of cervical lesions as compared to confirmation with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) without magnification when used by physicians. METHODS: From April-December 2004, women in San Martin, Peru, who were referred as VIA-positive by an "obstetriz" (a professional midwife with 6 years of university training) were randomized into two groups for confirmatory screening by a physician using either VIA or VIAM with an AviScope,TM a hand-held 4x magnification scope with a green light source. The reference standard for the presence or absence of cervical neoplasia was colposcopy and directed biopsy, as required. RESULTS: A total of 358 women participated in the study; 161 had a confirmatory examination with VIAM and 159 with VIA. Sensitivity for low- or high-grade lesions was 68 percent with VIA and 77 percent with VIAM, and specificity was 62 percent with VIA and 63 percent with VIAM; however, these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: For settings where physician confirmation of cervical abnormalities identified through visual inspection is required and available, this study demonstrates that VIAM had no significant advantage over VIA.

OBJETIVOS:En los países en desarrollo, el cáncer cervicouterino es la principal causa de muerte por cáncer en mujeres. Este estudio se diseñó para determinar si se puede mejorar la confirmación de lesiones cervicouterinas con la inspección visual con ácido acético y amplificación (VIAM) en comparación con la inspección visual con ácido acético (VIA) sin amplificación, cuando ambas las realizan médicos generales. MÉTODOS:Las mujeres de San Martín, Perú, con diagnóstico positivo mediante VIA realizado por una obstetriz (enfermera graduada con seis años de entrenamiento universitarios) entre abril y diciembre de 2004 se dividieron aleatoriamente en dos grupos para el diagnóstico confirmatorio realizado por médicos generales mediante VIA o VIAM, este último con un AviScopeTM, un dispositivo manual con lente monocular de amplificación 4X y fuente luz verde. Como método estándar de referencia para definir la presencia o ausencia de neoplasia cervicouterina se emplearon la colposcopia y la biopsia dirigida, según el caso. RESULTADOS:En el estudio participaron 358 mujeres, de ellas 161 pasaron la confirmación por VIAM y 159 por VIA. La sensibilidad para las lesiones de bajo y alto grados fue de 68 por ciento con VIA y de 77 por ciento con VIAM, mientras la especificidad fue de 62 por ciento por VIA y de 63 por ciento por VIAM; estas diferencias no tuvieron significación estadística. CONCLUSIONES:Se demostró que la VIAM no presentó ventajas significativas sobre la VIA en los casos en que se requiere y está disponible la confirmación de las lesiones del cuello uterino por un médico general.

In-situ infrared study of the adsorption and oxidation of oxalic acid at single-crystal and thin-film gold electrodes: a combined external reflection infrared and ATR-SEIRAS approach.

The adsorption and oxidation of oxalic acid at gold electrodes were studied by in-situ infrared spectroscopy. External reflection experiments carried out with gold single-crystal electrodes were combined with internal reflection (ATR-SEIRAS) experiments with gold thin-film electrodes. These gold thin films, with a typical thickness of ca. 35 nm, were deposited on silicon substrates by argon sputtering. As previously reported for evaporated gold films, the voltammetric curves obtained in sulfuric acid solutions after electrochemical annealing show typical features related to the presence of wide bidimensional (111) domains with long-range order. The in-situ infrared data collected for solutions of pH 1 confirmed the potential-dependent adsorption of either oxalate (Au(100)) or a mixture of bioxalate and oxalate (Au(111), Au(110), and gold thin films) anions in a bidentate configuration. The better signal-to-noise ratio associated with the SEIRA effect in the case of the gold thin-film electrodes allows the observation of the carbonyl band for adsorbed bioxalate that was not detected in the external reflection experiments. Besides, additional bands are observed between 2000 and 3000 cm(-)(1) that can be tentatively related to the formation of hydrogen bonds between neighboring bioxalate anions. The intensities of these bands decrease with increasing solution pH values, disappearing for pH 3 solutions in which adsorbed oxalate anions are the predominant species. The analysis of the intensities of the nu(s)(O-C-O) and nu(C-OH) + delta(C-O-H) bands for adsorbed oxalate and bioxalate, respectively, suggests that the pK(a) for the surface equilibrium between these species is significantly lower than that for the solution equilibrium.