Characterization of process air emissions in automotive production plants.

During manufacturing, particles produced from industrial processes become airborne. These airborne emissions represent a challenge from an industrial hygiene and environmental standpoint. A study was undertaken to characterize the particles associated with a variety of manufacturing processes found in the auto industry. Air particulates were collected in five automotive plants covering ten manufacturing processes in the areas of casting, machining, heat treatment and assembly. Collection procedures provided information on air concentration, size distribution, and chemical composition of the airborne particulate matter for each process and insight into the physical and chemical processes that created those particles.

El tutor clínico: Una mirada de los estudiantes de Licenciatura de Enfermería y Obstetricia / Clinical preceptor: An insight from the students of the Bachelor's in Nursing and Obstetrics

Introducción: El presente estudio se deriva del proyecto de investigación "Tutoría Clínica con Perspectiva Reflexiva como estrategia de enseñanza en el aprendizaje de Enfermería fundamental". Objetivo: Analizar el trabajo del tutor clínico a partir de la percepción de los alumnos tutorados. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio transversal, descriptivo, con una población de 16 alumnos, del tercer semestre de la Licenciatura en Enfermería y Obstetricia, en la asignatura de Fundamentos de Enfermería II; quienes realizaron prácticas de acuerdo con un Modelo de Tutoría Clínica Reflexiva; en una muestra, seleccionada por conveniencia, de 11 de ellos se recogieron las reflexiones sobre el ejercicio del tutor; para la recolección de datos se elaboró un instrumento tipo Likert, compuesto por 22 reactivos correspondientes con 4 categorías: comunicación, colaboración, didáctica clínica y evaluación. Resultados: La comunicación y cooperación fueron favorables durante la tutoría, sin embargo el trabajo grupal no se favorece durante la práctica clínica lo que interfiere en el proceso de aprendizaje; los procesos de evaluación que realiza el tutor no son uniformes para todos los tutorados. Discusión: El docente deberá reconocer su función como tutor clínico para estar ahí en la realidad concreta del cuidado, reconociendo que la comunicación verbal y no verbal es básica en el aprendizaje, fomentar el estudio en grupos colaborativos proporcionándoles la oportunidad de participar en su aprendizaje, asimismo deberá asumir la responsabilidad de desarrollar e implementar estrategias de aprendizaje de acuerdo a las necesidades de cada tutorado, evaluando así la efectividad de las mismas.

Introduction: This study is derived from the research project: "Clinical Tutoring under a Reflexive Perspective as a Teaching Strategy in Fundamental Nursing Learning". Objective: To analyze the clinical preceptor's work from the perspective of his/her students. Methodology: Basic, descriptive study with a population of 16 sophomore students from a Bachelor's in Nursing and Obstetrics Program, who were enrolled in Nursing Fundamentals II, and had clinical practices under a Model of Reflexive Clinical Tutoring. A sample of 11 students answered a 22-item Likert instrument related to 4 categories: communication, collaboration, clinical teaching, and assessment. Results: Communication and collaboration were favorable during the tutoring, however group work was not encouraged, and this had an impact on the learning process. In addition, students were not uniformly assessed by the teacher. Discussion: The teacher should acknowledge his/her function as a clinical preceptor within the reality of care recognizing that verbal and not-verbal communication are fundamental in learning. He/she should also encourage a collaborative group study format addressing each student's needs, and integrally evaluating the overall experience.

Performance of culture media for the isolation and identification of Staphylococcus aureus from bovine mastitis.

Rapid isolation and identification of pathogens is a major goal of diagnostic microbiology. In order to isolate and identify Staphylococcus aureus, a number of authors have used a variety of selective and/or differential culture media. However, to date, there are no reports comparing the efficacy of selective and differential culture media for S. aureus isolation from bovine mastitis cases using the 16S rRNA (rrs) gene sequence as a gold standard test. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of four selective and/or differential culture media for the isolation of S. aureus from milk samples collected from cows suffering from bovine mastitis. Four hundred and forty isolates were obtained using salt-mannitol agar (SMA, Bioxon), Staphylococcus-110 agar (S110, Bioxon), CHROMAgar Staph aureus (CSA, BD-BBL) and sheep's blood agar (SBA, BD-BBL). All bacterial isolates were identified by their typical colony morphology in the respective media, by secondary tests (for coagulase and ß-haemolysis) and by partial 16S rRNA (rrs) gene sequencing as a gold standard test. Sensitivity, positive predictive and negative predictive values were higher for SMA (86.96, 52.63 and 95.95%, respectively) compared with S110 (70.00, 23.73 and 90.91%, respectively), CSA (69.23, 28.13 and 95.74%, respectively) and SBA (68.75, 37.93 and 89.58%, respectively) while specificity values were similar for all media. Data indicated that the use of culture media for S. aureus isolation combined with determination of coagulase activity and haemolysis as secondary tests improved accuracy of the identification and was in accordance with rrs gene sequence-analysis compared with the use of the culture media alone.

Tuning the electronic properties of armchair carbon nanoribbons by a selective boron doping.

Armchair carbon nanoribbons (ACNRs) substitutionally doped with boron atoms are investigated in the framework of first-principles density functional theory. Different boron-boron arrangements and concentrations are considered in order to simulate possible aggregation patterns, their structural stability and electronic behavior are determined as a function of ribbon size. In agreement with previous studies, our results show that the dopant atoms have in general a preference for edge sites, but specific effects appear as a function of concentration that importantly modify the properties of the ribbons compared to the pristine case. Interesting tendencies are discovered as a function of dopant concentration that significantly affect the electronic properties of the ribbons. We have found that BC(3) island formation and edge doping are the most important factors for the structural stabilization of the ribbons with high boron concentration (>7%) whereas for the cases of low boron concentrations (<5%) the structural stabilities are similar. For all the doped cases, we have found that the BC(3) island patterns give rise to highly localized B states on top of the Fermi level, resulting in semiconducting behavior. On the other hand, when the average distance between the B atoms increases beyond island stoichiometry, the localization of their states is reduced and the ribbons may become metallic due to a band crossing caused by the lowering of the Fermi level resulting from the positive charge doping. Thus, tuning the dopant interaction would be an appropriate way to tailor the electronic properties of the ribbons in a convenient manner in view of potential technological applications.

[Mental retardation as a risk factor to develop a psychotic disease]. / Retraso mental como factor de riesgo para el desarrollo de un trastorno psicótico.

INTRODUCTION: One of the main aims of research on schizophrenia has been to pinpoint the early symptoms and signals of the disease before its appearance. OBJECTIVES: We have examined the diagnoses previously given to patients before they were diagnosed of schizophrenia. METHOD: This is a case-control study in which we used a data register including the fields of minimum basic data set (MBDS) whose time period included 1999 to 2005. RESULTS: In our study, there was a 3.6% frequency of mental retardation and 2.1% one of behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence, both diagnosed previously. The estimated odds ratio for a mentally retarded patient to suffer adult onset psychosis is 4.6 (95%CI [3.43-6.26]), schizophrenia 5.8 (95% CI [4.20-7.88]), paranoid schizophrenia 4.8 (95% CI [3.39 -6.93]), residual schizophrenia 7.0 (95% CI [4.81 -10.09]) and persistent delusional disorder 2.7 (95% CI [1.57 -4.73]). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded from our study that there is an increased frequency of mental retardation among the pathological records of subjects who will be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and residual schizophrenia in the future. This fact supports the etiological thesis of schizophrenia involving neurodevelopment disorders.

Seroprevalence of and risk factors for brucellosis of goats in herds of Michoacan, Mexico.

Our objectives were to estimate the seroprevalence of Brucella melitensis, and to identify some risk factors associated with goat seropositivity in Michoacan, Mexico. Blood samples were collected from 5114 animals from 79 herds. Sera were tested for antibodies against B. melitensis using the Rose Bengal plate test and the complement-fixation test. Information regarding the herds and each animal sampled were recorded through a personal interview at the farm. We used random-effects multivariable logistic regression to analyze our data. Fifty-six herds of the 79 tested had at least one seropositive animal. The animal-level true seroprevalence was 9.8% (CI=8.8, 10.7). Animals in large herds (>34 animals), in herds with high stock density (>3.5 animals/m(2)) or animals >24 months old had higher odds of seropositivity (2.0, 1.7 and 1.8, respectively) than those in small herds, in herds with low stock density or animals < or =24 months old.

Diagnostic stability and evolution of bipolar disorder in clinical practice: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term stability of International Classification of Diseases-10th revision bipolar affective disorder (BD) in multiple settings. METHOD: A total of 34 368 patients received psychiatric care in the catchment area of a Spanish hospital (1992-2004). The analyzed sample included patients aged > or =18 years who were assessed on > or =10 occasions and received a diagnosis of BD at least once (n = 1153; 71,543 assessments). Prospective and retrospective consistencies and the proportion of subjects who received a BD diagnosis in > or =75% of assessments were calculated. Factors related to diagnostic shift were analyzed with traditional statistical methods and Markov's models. RESULTS: Thirty per cent of patients received a BD diagnosis in the first assessment and 38% in the last assessment. Prospective and retrospective consistencies were 49% and 38%. Twenty-three per cent of patients received a BD diagnosis during > or =75% of the assessments. CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of misdiagnosis and diagnostic shift from other psychiatric disorders to BD. Temporal consistency was lower than in other studies.

No association between the Ser9Gly polymorphism of the dopamine D3 receptor gene and schizophrenia in a Spanish sample.

This study aims to further evaluate the controversial association between the Ser9Gly polymorphism in codon 9 of the D3 dopamine receptor gene (DRD3) and schizophrenia in psychiatric inpatients acutely hospitalized in two general hospitals in Madrid, Spain. The Ser9Gly polymorphism of the DRD3 was examined in 178 schizophrenic patients, 286 patients with other psychiatric diagnoses, and 132 controls recruited. Genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No association was found between schizophrenia and the Ser9Gly polymorphism of the D3 dopamine receptor gene.

Cuestionario de estrategias de acoso psicológico:el LIPT-60 (Leymann Inventory of PsychologicalTerrorization) en versión española / LIPT-60: spanish version of the Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terrorization

El LIPT-60 es un cuestionario escalar autoadministrado que objetiva y valora 60 diferentes estrategias de acoso psicológico, derivado del LIPT original dicotómico de 45 items de Leymann. En una muestra de 125 sujetos de ambos sexos, participantes voluntarios en programas de información y/o atención sobre el acoso psicológico en el trabajo, la media de conductas de acoso experimentadas (NEAP) por los sujetos acosados fue de 29, con una intensidad media por cada conducta de acoso (IMAP) de 2,32. Los sujetos no acosados sufrieron una media de 4 conductas de acoso, con un IMAP de 1,23. El indice global de acoso psicológico (IGAP) fue de 1,23 para los acosados y 0,09 para los no acosados. Existe una importante correlación entre los indices de acoso y la edad del sujeto, pero no con su género. Las 17 estrategias más frecuentes e intensas pretenden incomunicar, intimidar, desprestigiar y entorpecer el progreso de la victima, y afectan al 70 por ciento de los acosados. Las estrategias de acoso menos frecuentes son conductas groseras, evidentes o que dejan huella, lo que confirma que, a diferencia de otras formas de violencia en el trabajo, el acoso psicológico consiste en estrategias sofisticadas y bien planeadas y no en meros arrebatos o exabruptos (AU)

Comparison between isosorbide dinitrate in aerosol and in tablets for the treatment of hypertensive emergencies.

Sixty patients with a hypertensive emergency (mean arterial pressure >130 mm Hg and evidence of target organ damage) were randomly divided into two groups of 30 patients each. Group A received 1.25 mg of isosorbide dinitrate aerosol upon arrival and a second dose 15 minutes later when the mean arterial pressure reduction was < 15%. Group B received a single 5 mg tablet of sublingual isosorbide dinitrate. Electrocardiography was performed in both groups prior to and 30 minutes after the medication. Blood pressure was monitored for 6 hours. Blood pressure in Group A patients decreased in an average time of 10 minutes from 191 +/- 12/122.3 +/- 5 to 151.5 +/- 9.2/93 +/- 4 mm Hg, p < 0.005. Mean arterial pressure decreased by 22.8%: 145 +/- 7 to 112 +/- 7.5 mm Hg, p < 0.005. No adverse effects occurred. Five patients in Group B did not respond; in the rest of the group blood pressure decreased 45 minutes after receiving the medication from 194 +/- 8/125 +/- 5.5 to 160 +/- 11/98 +/- 6 mm Hg; p < 0.005. Mean arterial pressure decreased by 20.1%: 148.3 +/- 12 to 118.6 +/- 9 mm Hg, p < 0.002; ten patients suffered headache. Three patients in Group A had a subepicardial lesion in the first electrocardiograph, which disappeared with the use of the aerosol. In Group B, electrocardiography results were normal. These results seem to indicate that isosorbide dinitrate aerosol is better than tablets for the treatment of patients with a hypertensive emergencies.

[Prevalence of white-coat hypertension in a geriatric population with a diagnosis of isolated systolic hypertension]. / Prevalencia de la hipertensión de bata blanca en población geriátrica con diagnóstico de hipertensión sistólica aislada.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of white-coat hypertension in geriatric subjects with isolated systolic hypertension. We included 80 elderly patients with a previous diagnosis of isolated systolic hypertension, who performed self-measurement of blood pressure at home during 3 days after a 2-week washout period. Patients with home blood pressure values <135/85 performed a second self-measurement of blood pressure one month later. We found that 20 patients (25%, 18 women, RR=2.6), showed normal blood pressure values at home in both studies of self-measurement. Knowledge of the prevalence of white-coat hypertension is important for adequate diagnosis, and to avoid the use of unnecessary antihypertensive drugs.

[Management of hypertension emergencies in elderly patients with isosorbide dinitrate aerosol]. / Manejo de las emergenecias hipertensivas en el anciano con dinitrato de isosorbide en nebulizador.

In this clinical trial, we assessed the effectiveness and safety of isosorbide dinitrate spray administered through the oral mucosa in 20 elderly patients (> 60 years old) with a hypertensive emergency (mean arterial pressure > 140 mmHg and target-organ damage). The patents were given a first dose of 1.25 mg of spray when they were admitted; a second dose was administered 15 min. later if the mean arterial pressure had not decreased by > 15%. An electrocardiogram (ECG) was done on every patient immediately prior and 30 min. after administering the medication. Three patients (15%) had a good response with one dose while 17 patients (85%) required a second dose. Thirty patients had a significant reduction in arterial blood pressure (193 +/- 91,123 +/- 5.4 to 154 + 7.1/92.5 + 6.2 mmHg p < 0.005) as well as of the mean arterial pressure (146.8 +/- B to 113 +/- 5 mmHg 23%, p < 0.005 > in a period of 30 min. No adverse effects, rebound hypertension nor severe hypotension were observed. These figures remained under control for 3 h. Both ECG, were normal. A reduction of 13.5% heart rate was obtained (p < 0.005). Our observations suggest that isosorbide dinitrate aerosol is an effective and safe alternative for the treatment of elderly patients with hypertensive emergencies.

Comparison between isosorbide dinitrate in aerosol and in tablet form for the treatment of hypertensive emergencies in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: Isosorbide dinitrate in spray form is an effective and safe option for the treatment of hypertensive emergencies. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether isosorbide dinitrate spray is as effective and safe as treatment in tablet form for the management of hypertensive emergencies in the elderly. METHODS: Forty patients with hypertensive emergencies were randomly divided into two groups of 20 patients each. Group A received 1.25 mg isosorbide dinitrate aerosol upon arrival and a second dose 15 min later when mean systemic arterial pressure (MAP) reduction was <15% . Group B patients received a single 5 mg tablet of sublingual isosorbide dinitrate. RESULTS: Blood pressure in Group A patients decreased from 193 +/- 13/123 +/- 6.6 mmHg to 154 +/- 15/92.5 +/- 7.6 mmHg (p < 0.005), the reduction beginning 10 min after drug administration; no adverse effects were found. Two patients in Group B did not respond but for the other patients in this group blood pressure decreased from 197 +/- 10/121 +/- 7 to 154 +/- 11/90 +/- 4 mmHg, (p < 0.005), the reduction beginning 45 min after receiving the medication; 8 patients suffered headache. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that isosorbide dinitrate aerosol is more effective than tablets for the treatment of elderly patients with hypertensive emergencies.

Focal-plane processing architectures for real-time hyperspectral image processing.

Real-time image processing requires high computational and I/O throughputs obtained by use of optoelectronic system solutions. A novel architecture that uses focal-plane optoelectronic-area I/O with a fine-grain, low-memory, single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) processor array is presented as an efficient computational solution for real-time hyperspectral image processing. The architecture is evaluated by use of realistic workloads to determine data throughputs, processing demands, and storage requirements. We show that traditional store-and-process system performance is inadequate for this application domain, whereas the focal-plane SIMD architecture is capable of supporting real-time performances with sustained operation throughputs of 500-1500 gigaoperations/s. The focal-plane architecture exploits the direct coupling between sensor and parallel-processor arrays to alleviate data-bandwidth requirements, allowing computation to be performed in a stream-parallel computation model, while data arrive from the sensors.

[Recurrent cardiac tamponade secondary to postpericardiotomy syndrome]. / Taponamiento cardíaco recidivante secundario a síndrome postpericardiotomía.

A 22-year-old woman underwent surgical repair of a secondary atrial septal defect. Thirty-five days after surgery, she developed fever, systemic venous congestion, and respiratory symptoms and chest pain. The echocardiogram demonstrated pericardial effusion (PE) quantified at approximately 3,500 cc, with signs of cardiac tamponade (CT). Pericardiocentesis was performed and symptomatology subsides when Prednisone 10 mg was administered every 24 h. Fourteen days after discharge, she was readmitted due to progressive dyspnea, orthopnea and fatigue. The echocardiogram showed the reappearance of PE and a mild CT. Prednisone 40 mg/day was given. After 10 days an echocardiogram showed are duction of the PE (600 cc) and the clinical condition of the patient improved. Three months later, PE disappeared in the echocardiogram and the patient remained asymptomatic.

Repair of acute descending aortic dissection complicated by visceral ischemia.

Visceral ischemia is a rare but lethal complication of type III aortic dissection. We report a Marfan patient with such a complication who had a complete resolution of profound visceral ischemia despite a delay in repair of over 48 hours.

Comparison between isosorbide dinitrate aerosol and nifedipine in the treatment of hypertensive emergencies.

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide donors have been used in the management of hypertensive emergencies (HE). Isosorbide dinitrate aerosol (ISA) is a nitric oxide fast-acting donor. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of ISA and nifedipine in the treatment of HE. METHODS: Sixty adult patients with an HE were randomised to receive either ISA (2.5 mg) or nifedipine (10 mg). Patients were given an electrocardiogram (ECG) immediately prior, and 30 min after administering the medication. Blood pressure (BP) was measured every 5 min for the first 30 min, and then every 30 min for a period of 6 h. RESULTS: Blood pressure values for all patients in the ISA group decreased significantly (187 +/- 13/121 +/- 6 to 153 +/- 15/92.3 +/- 7.6 mmHg, P < 0.005). Two of the patients in this group had angor pectoris with evidence of subepicardial ischaemia as seen in the first ECG, both of which disappeared with the drug. Heart rate decreased by 14%. Similarly, all patients in the nifedipine group had significant decreases in BP (190 +/- 23/115 +/- 7 to 153 +/- 26/86 +/- 6 mm Hg, P < 0.005). Their first ECG was normal. Two patients suffered angor pectoris after nifedipine, with subepicardial ischaemia registering in the second ECG. Heart rate increased 11.9% in this group. During the follow-up period, no clinically significant side effects or cases of rebound hypertension were observed in the ISA group, whereas in the nifedipine group, eight patients reported having headaches and four others rebound hypertension. CONCLUSION: Our results show a favourable effect of ISA in the treatment of HE.

Management factors associated with Babesia bovis seroprevalence in cattle from eastern Yucatán, Mexico.

The effect of management on the seroprevalence of Babesia bovis was studied in 399 Bos indicus cattle 1-2 years old from 92 farms in the eastern Yucatán, México. The management factors studied were: farm-type, production system, herd size, farm size, stocking density, vector control, dipping interval, type of dipping, type of acaricide and cattle introduction to the farm. A cross-sectional study was carried out (2-stage cluster sampling). The number of serum samples was proportionally distributed according to the number of farms in the nine locations of eastern Yucatán, México (399 animals from 92 farms). Antibody activity to B. bovis was tested using an indirect ELISA. The farms with a seroprevalence < or = 75% were considered as cases and those with seroprevalence > 75% were considered as controls. The variables with p < or = 0.20 were included in fixed effects logistic regression. The seroprevalence of the zone was 73.8% (66.3-81.3%). The following risk factors were found: Stocking density (< 1 head/ha, OR = 4.04, CI (OR) = 1.20-13.62) and dipping interval (> 60 days, OR = 5.07 CI (OR) = 1.26-20.48).

Isosorbide aerosol: an option for the treatment of hypertensive crises.

In this study the authors assessed the effectiveness and safety of isosorbide dinitrate aerosol administered through the oral mucosa in 30 adult patients who presented with a hypertensive crisis (mean arterial pressure > 130 mm Hg and evidence of target organ damage). The patients were given a first dose of 1.25 mg of aerosol when they were admitted to the hospital; a second dose was administered 15 minutes later if the mean arterial pressure had not decreased by > 15%. An electrocardiogram (ECG) was obtained for every patient immediately prior to and 30 minutes after administration of the medication. Nine patients (30%) had a good response with one dose, whereas 21 patients (70%) required a second dose. All 30 patients had a significant reduction of the arterial blood pressure (187+/-13 / 121+/-6.6 to 153+/-15.3 / 92.3+/-7.6 mm Hg; p<0.005) as well as of the mean arterial pressure (136.6+/-8 to 109.5+/-7 mm Hg; p<0.005) in a period of 30 minutes. No adverse effects, rebound hypertension, or severe hypotension were observed. These figures remained under control for 6 hours. Two of the patients had angina pectoris at admission and their ECG showed subepicardial ischemia, both of which disappeared with the medication. A second ECG appeared normal. A reduction of 14% in heart rate was obtained (95+/-15 to 82+/-14 beats per minute; p<0.005). These observations suggest that isosorbide dinitrate aerosol is an effective and safe alternative for the treatment of patients with hypertensive crises.

Optimal usage of available wiring resources in diffractive-reflective optoelectronic multichip modules.

Advances in VLSI and optoelectronic multichip module technologiesare enabling the construction of ultracompact massively parallelprocessing systems. The technological parameters that define thewirability and delay characteristics of these technologies have asignificant impact on the system architecture. An analytical modelis presented that allows the design space exploration of theinterconnection networks associated with multinode chips packaged on asingle multichip module substrate. Possible system designs areevaluated for a two-level interconnect with separate k-aryn-cube networks for interchip and intrachipcommunication. The impact of several architectural andtechnological parameters on the optimal network implementation (based on average no-load latency) is analyzed.