Biomonitoring of human activities recovery following lockdown in a highly touristic Mediterranean Island using Mytilus galloprovincialis.

Coastal waters face significant anthropogenic stress, particularly from tourism, exacerbating pollution, especially in areas like touristic islands. Ischia, the largest island in the Gulf of Naples and part of the Regno di Nettuno Marine Protected Area, suffers from pollution due to tourism and maritime traffic. During the initial SARS-CoV-2 lockdown from March to June 2020, Ischia was isolated, providing a unique opportunity to study pollutant release and its impact on coastal ecosystems. Adult Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels were transplanted to three sites on the island for active biomonitoring. Accumulation of chemicals in tissues and biomarkers related to metabolism, detoxification, and oxidative stress were measured. Results indicated that pollutants from daily activities entered the sea, affecting filter feeders. Translocated organisms showed modulated metabolic functions and biochemical changes, highlighting coastal vulnerability and calling for conservation efforts.

Design organization and clinical processes around patient characteristics: Evidence from a multiple case study of Hemophilia.

Background: There is growing evidence of the relevance of designing organization of care around patient characteristics; this is especially true in the case of complex chronic diseases.Purpose: The goal of the paper - that focuses on the analysis of the clinical condition hemophilia in three different centers - is to address two different research questions:1. How can we define, within the same clinical condition, different patient profiles homogeneous in terms of intensity of service required (e.g. number of visits or diagnostics)? 2. What are the conditions to re-organize care around these patient profiles in a multidisciplinary and coordinated manner?Research design: The authors have used a multiple case study approach combining both qualitative and quantitative methodologies; in particularly the semi-structured interviews and the direct observation were aimed to map the process in order to come up with an estimate of the cost of the full cycle of care.Study sample: The research methodology has been applied consistently in three different centers. The selection of the structures has been based on two main different criteria: (i) high standards regarding both organizational and clinical aspects and (ii) willingness from management, nurses and physicians to provide data.Results: The study clearly shows that different patient profiles - within the same clinical condition - trigger a different set of diagnostic and therapeutic activities. It is, thus, important considering patient characteristics in the development and implementation of clinical pathways and this will imply relevant differences in terms of organizational and economic impact.Conclusions: These process-based analyses are very much critical especially if we want to move to a bundled and integrated payment system but, as shown by this study itself, require a lot of time and efforts since our healthcare information systems are still fragmented and vertically designed.

Validation of an IMU-based Gait Analysis Method for Assessment of Fall Risk Against Traditional Methods.

Falls are a severe problem in older adults, often resulting in severe consequences such as injuries or loss of consciousness. It is crucial to screen fall risk in order to prescribe appropriate therapies that can potentially prevent falls. Identifying individuals who have experienced falls in the past, commonly known as fallers, is used to evaluate fall risk, as a prior fall indicates a higher likelihood of future falls. The methods that have the most support from evidence are Gait Speed (GS) and Time Up and Go (TUG), which use specific cut-off values to evaluate the fall risk. There have been proposals for alternative methods that use wearable sensor technology to improve fall risk assessment. Although these technological alternatives are promising, further research is necessary to validate their use in clinical settings. In this study, we propose a method for identifying fallers based on a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The inputs for the classifier are the gait parameters obtained from a 30-minute walk recorded using an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) placed at the foot of patients. We validated our proposed method using a sample of 157 patients aged over 70 years. Our findings indicate significant differences (p< 0.05) in stride speed, clearance, angular velocity, acceleration, and coefficient of variability among steps between fallers and non-fallers. The proposed method demonstrates the its potential to classify fallers with an accuracy of [79.6]%, slightly outperforming the GS method which provides an accuracy of [77.0]%, and also overcomes its dependency on the cut-off speed to determine fallers. This method could be valuable in detecting fallers during long-term monitoring that does not require periodic evaluations in a clinical setting.

Control glicémico perioperatorio / Perioperatory glycemic control

Diabetes is the most common endocrinopathy, in 2014, 8.6% of the population suffered from diabetes, and it was responsible for at least 3.7 million deaths per year. It is estimated that by that by 2050 more than 30% of the population will have this disease. In cardiovascular surgery, it is described that 5.2% of patients are undiagnosed diabetics and this rises to 10% -28% in non-cardiac surgeries. The adverse results are markedly high in those patients with poor glycemic control including an increase of more than 50% in mortality, as well as an increase in respiratory infections, surgical site infection, urinary infection, heart attack and acute kidney injury among others. During the preoperative period of patients with diabetes, it is important to review glycemic control and its current treatment, in addition to providing the patient instructions on how to adjust medications. Intraoperatively, any condition that leads to an uncontrolled increase in surgical stress must be controlled, since this in turn generates hyperglycemia. Knowledge of insulins, their pharmacology and schedules is essential to maintain blood glucose intraoperatively in normal ranges. Different practical algorithms are proposed for the correct and safe management of hyperglycemia in the perioperative period. All care should be continued in the postoperative period defining the continuity of the insulin therapies established and the postoperative care of the patient.

La diabetes es la endocrinopatía más común, en 2014, el 8,6% de la población padecía diabetes siendo responsable de 3,7 millones de muertes por año. Se estima que para el 2050 más del 30% de la población tendrá diabetes. En cirugía cardiovascular el 5,2% de los pacientes son diabéticos no diagnosticados, cifra que aumenta hasta 10%-28% en cirugías no cardíacas. Los resultados adversos son marcadamente elevados en aquellos pacientes con mal control incluyendo un aumento del 50% en la mortalidad, así mismo, incremento de infecciones respiratorias, infección del sitio quirúrgico, infección urinaria, infarto agudo de miocardio y lesión renal aguda, entre otros. Durante el preoperatorio de pacientes con diabetes, es importante revisar el control glucémico y su tratamiento, además de proporcionar al paciente instrucciones por escrito sobre cómo ajustarlo. En el intraoperatorio se debe controlar cualquier condición que lleve a un aumento del estrés quirúrgico pues este a su vez genera hiperglucemia. Es fundamental el conocimiento de las insulinas, su farmacología y esquemas para mantener glucemias en el intraoperatorio en rangos normales. Se proponen diferentes algoritmos prácticos para el correcto y seguro manejo de la hiperglucemia en el perioperatorio. La atención debe continuarse en el posoperatorio definiendo continuidad de terapias insulínicas instauradas y el adecuado cuidado del paciente.

Perfil clínico y epidemiológico de las enfermedades oculares no infecciosas en comunidades indígenas de Chocó, Colombia / Clinical and epidemiological profile of non-infectious eye diseases in indigenous communities from Choco, Colombia

Objetivo: determinar el perfil clínico y epidemiológico de las enfermedades oculares no infecciosas en población indígena del departamento de Chocó, Colombia. Materiales y métodos: estudio descriptivo transversal, en comunidades indígenas de la Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas Embera, Wounaan, Katío, Chami y Tule en 2015.No se realizó muestreo, se evaluaron líderes indígenas mayores de 18 años, sin enfermedades oftalmológicas infecciosas y que decidieron participar voluntariamente mediante consentimiento informado. Se diseñó un cuestionario para registrar variables sociodemográficas y oftalmológicas. Resultados: se evaluaron 46 indígenas, con un promedio de edad de 34,2 ± 9,5, 69,6% eran hombres, 21,7% eran Embera Dobida, 56,5% habían completado los estudios de secundaria y 23,9% se desempeñaban en el área de educación. El 82,6% de los participantes presentaron agudeza visual normal,15,2% presentaron déficit visual y ninguno presentó déficit visual severo o ceguera.Se encontraron alteraciones conjuntivales en el 56,5% y alteraciones al Cover test en 58,6%, siendo la endotropia y endoforia los hallazgos más frecuentes. No se encontraron alteraciones en la evaluación de la movilidad ocular, tonometría, campimetría, ni fondo de ojo. Conclusiones: se encontraron niveles aceptables de visión y salud oftalmológica entre la población evaluada, que no representan limitaciones considerables para su quehacer diario, pero que potencialmente las podrían ocasionar. La endotropia y las alteraciones conjuntivales corresponden a los hallazgos más frecuentes...(AU)

Objective: to determine the clinical and epidemiological profile of non-infectious ocular diseases in indigenous populations of Chocó, Colombia. Materials and methods:transversal descriptive study, in indigenous communities of the Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas Embera, Wounaan, Katío, Chami and Tule in 2015. Sampling was not performed,indigenous leaders over the age of 18, without infectious eye diseases were evaluated and decided to voluntarily participate by informed consent. A questionnaire was designed to register demographic and opthalmologic variables variables. Results: 46 indigenous people were evaluated, with an average age of 34,2 ± 9,5 years, 69,6% were men, 21,7% were Embera Dobida, 56,5% had completed secondary education and 23,9% worked in the education area. 82,6% of the participants presented normal visual acuity, 15,2% presented visual deficit and none had severe visual impairment or blindness. Conjunctival alterations were found in 56,5% and alterations in the coverage test in 58,6%, with endotropia and endophoria being the most frequent findings. No alterations were found in the assessment of ocular mobility, tonometry, campimetry, or ocular fundus. Conclusions: acceptable levels of vision and ophthalmological health were found among the evaluated population, which do not represent considerable limitations for their daily work, but could potentially cause them. Endotropia and conjunctival alterations correspond to the most frequent findings...(AU)