In Situ Breakage of Implanon® - Two Cases of a Rare Occurrence

BACKGROUND: In situ breakage of Implanon® is a rare occurrence with unknown clinical significance. Authors report two different cases of broken Implanon® of women attended at our Family Planning Clinic. DISCUSSION: In situ implants may spontaneously and asymptomatically break, although some uncertainty relies on whether that situation has a real impact on the contraceptive effectiveness or on bleeding patterns. Even more, it can be argued if, as a result of an occurrence of that nature, the implant shall or shall not be removed before the envisaged 3-year period of effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Currently, the clinical significance of implant breakage remains unknown. The decision to remove a broken or bent implant should be based on clinical judgements considering patients' wishes

SINR Analysis of Opportunistic MIMO-SDMA Downlink Systems with Linear Combining

Opportunistic scheduling (OS) schemes have been proposed previously by the authors for multiuser MIMO-SDMA downlink systems with linear combining. In particular, it has been demonstrated that significant performance improvement can be achieved by incorporating low-complexity linear combining techniques into the design of OS schemes for MIMO-SDMA. However, this previous analysis was performed based on the effective signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), assuming an interference-limited scenario, which is typically a valid assumption in SDMA-based systems. It was shown that the limiting distribution of the effective SIR is of the Frechet type. Surprisingly, the corresponding scaling laws were found to follow $\epsilon\log K$ with $0<\epsilon<1$, rather than the conventional $\log\log K$ form. Inspired by this difference between the scaling law forms, in this paper a systematic approach is developed to derive asymptotic throughput and scaling laws based on signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR) by utilizing extreme value theory. The convergence of the limiting distribution of the effective SINR to the Gumbel type is established. The resulting scaling law is found to be governed by the conventional $\log\log K$ form. These novel results are validated by simulation results. The comparison of SIR and SINR-based analysis suggests that the SIR-based analysis is more computationally efficient for SDMA-based systems and it captures the asymptotic system performance with higher fidelity.Comment: Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE International Conference on Communications, Beijing, May 19-23, 200

A double-edged sword: Residents' views on the health consequences of gentrification in Porto, Portugal

Gentrification is currently shaping the urban environment in important ways. It also contributes to shaping the health of the inhabitants of gentrifying cities, although it is still unclear how. Gentrification processes are often linked to different drivers and have specific local translations, further complicating the study of the relationship between gentrification and health. We investigated this relationship in Porto, Portugal, a southern European city undergoing rampant transnational gentrification. In order to study how gentrification impacts health from the point of view of that city's residents, we conducted a study using photovoice with a sample of participants recruited from a population-based cohort, which was divided into three different groups: one from gentrifying areas of Porto, another from deprived non-gentrifying areas, and the other from affluent areas. The thematic analysis of data generated six themes, each referring to a change, or a set of connected changes, related to gentrification: increasing floating population, lack of housing access and displacement, construction and rehabilitation, changing local commerce, loss of place, and broader socioeconomic change. According to the accounts from participants, these changes affect health in different ways, both beneficial and harmful. Participants also reflected on how to act on this issue. This research adds to the knowledge about the relationship between gentrification and health by providing detailed and nuanced views about this relationship considering its city-wide impacts.This work was supported by FEDER through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalisation and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) under the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UIDB/04750/2020) and Laboratório para an Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR) (LA/P/0064/2020); and the project “HUG: The health impacts of inner-city gentrification, displacement and housing insecurity: a quasi-experimental multi-cohort study” (PTDC/GES-OUT/1662/2020); Ana Isabel Ribeiro was supported by National Funds through FCT, under the ‘Stimulus of Scientific Employment – Individual Support’ programme within the contract CEECIND/02386/2018. The funding sources had no role in the research conducted neither in the preparation of this article

Exact ground states for the four-electron problem in a Hubbard ladder

The exact ground state of four electrons in an arbitrary large two leg Hubbard ladder is deduced from nine analytic and explicit linear equations. The used procedure is described, and the properties of the ground state are analyzed. The method is based on the construction in r-space of the different type of orthogonal basis wave vectors which span the subspace of the Hilbert space containing the ground state. In order to do this, we start from the possible microconfigurations of the four particles within the system. These microconfigurations are then rotated, translated and spin-reversed in order to build up the basis vectors of the problem. A closed system of nine analytic linear equations is obtained whose secular equation, by its minimum energy solution, provides the ground state energy and the ground state wave function of the model.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

EVALUACIÓN DEL CONOCIMIENTO ENFERMERO EN EL MANEJO AL PACIENTE NEUTROPÉNICO

Objective: To evaluate the nursing staff's knowledge about management of cancer patients with febrile neutropenia. Methodology: An observational descriptive study was carried out with 35 nurses of hospital centers in Havana city, from 2006 to 2008. A structured survey was designed and then applied, with previous consent, to the participating nurses. Results: Out of 35 nurses interviewed, 51.4% have their degree, 54.4% work in institutes, 57.1% perform assistance functions and 37.7% work in oncohematologic services. Work experience in this service is between one and two years. 68.5% of nurses know a lot about neutropenia, 25.7 % know a little, and 5.7 % do not know anything about the topic. Conclusions: The knowledge level was high in the majority, and it was associated with the precedent of having received postgraduate courses regarding Oncology and training from the nurses in the units where they work.Objetivo: Evaluar el conocimiento del personal de enfermer&iacute;a sobre el manejo del paciente oncol&oacute;gico con neutropenia febril. M&eacute;todo: Estudio observacional descriptivo evaluativo con 35 enfermeros pertenecientes a centros hospitalarios de Ciudad de la Habana durante el per&iacute;odo 2006 -2008. Se dise&ntilde;o un cuestionario estructurado que fue aplicado con previo consentimiento de los enfermeros participantes. Resultados: De los 35 enfermeros encuestados, el 51.4% son licenciados, 54.4% trabajan en institutos, el 57.1% ejercen funciones asistenciales, y el 37.7% laboran en servicios oncohematologicos. Los a&ntilde;os de experiencia de trabajo en el servicio oscilan entre 1 y 2 a&ntilde;os. El 68.5% posee mucho conocimiento sobre neutropenia, poco un 25.7% y no tienen conocimientos el 5.7%. Conclusiones: El nivel de conocimiento fue evaluado en su mayor&iacute;a de mucho, y se asoci&oacute; al antecedente de haber recibido cursos postgrados sobre Oncolog&iacute;a y adiestramientos de los enfermeros en los servicios donde laboran

Two-dimensional Vortices in Superconductors

Superconductors have two key characteristics. They expel magnetic field and they conduct electrical current with zero resistance. However, both properties are compromised in high magnetic fields which can penetrate the material and create a mixed state of quantized vortices. The vortices move in response to an electrical current dissipating energy which destroys the zero resistance state\cite{And64}. One of the central problems for applications of high temperature superconductivity is the stabilization of vortices to ensure zero electrical resistance. We find that vortices in the anisotropic superconductor Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+\delta}$ (Bi-2212) have a phase transition from a liquid state, which is inherently unstable, to a two-dimensional vortex solid. We show that at high field the transition temperature is independent of magnetic field, as was predicted theoretically for the melting of an ideal two-dimensional vortex lattice\cite{Fis80,Gla91}. Our results indicate that the stable solid phase can be reached at any field as may be necessary for applications involving superconducting magnets\cite{Has04,Sca04,COHMAG}. The vortex solid is disordered, as suggested by previous studies at lower fields\cite{Lee93,Cub93}. But its evolution with increasing magnetic field displays unexpected threshold behavior that needs further investigation.Comment: 5 pages and 4 figures. submitted to Nature Physic

Orodispersible tablets: therapeutic and technological advantages of development

Los comprimidos bucodispersables se definen como comprimidos no recubiertos destinados a ser colocados en la boca, donde se dispersan rápidamente antes de ser tragados. Estas formulaciones son conocidas por las siglas FDDT´s (Fast Dissolving Disintegrating Tablets). Son útiles para la administración a pacientes con dificultades en la deglución, presentan una elevada aceptación por parte del paciente, mejoran de la biodisponibilidad del principio activo y suponen una nueva alternativa para la industria farmacéutica. Dentro de sus inconvenientes destacan el poco conocimiento por parte del paciente, la baja resistencia mecánica, su mayor susceptibilidad a la degradación por temperatura y humedad; la falta, a veces, de bioequivalencia con las formulaciones convencionales, y la dificultad de obtener liberaciones prolongadas o retardadas del principio activo.A nivel tecnológico, existen varios procesos que se pueden aplicar en su elaboración. Con los métodos clásicos de elaboración de comprimidos, mediante la correcta selección de los excipientes y de las variables de la etapa de compresión se obtienen unos comprimidos en los que existe un equilibrio entre dureza y disgregación. Han surgido una serie de tecnologías novedosas: Flashtab, Wowtab, Orasolv y Durasolv. Otra opción es el empleo de técnicas de liofilización, aunque presenta como desventaja su alto coste. Algunas tecnologías especiales patentadas como son Lyoc, QuickSolv y Zydis. Por último, estos comprimidos se pueden elaborar por el método de los polímeros entrecruzados, también conocido como FlashDose y se basa en la formación de una matriz de hilos de azúcares entrelazados.The orally disintegrating tablets are defined as non-coated tablets intended to be placed in the mouth where they disperse rapidly before being swallowed. These formulations are known by the acronym FDDT's (Fast Dissolving Disintegrating Tablets). They are useful for administration to patients with swallowing difficulties, have a high acceptance by the patient, improve bioavailability of the active ingredient and represent a new alternative for the pharmaceutical industry. Among its disadvantages include limited knowledge by the patient, low mechanical strength, increased susceptibility to degradation by temperature and humidity; lack sometimes bioequivalence with conventional formulations, and the difficulty of obtaining prolonged release or delayed active ingredient. At the technological level, there are several processes that can be applied in their preparation. With classical methods of tabletting, by proper selection of excipients and the variables of the compression stage a tablet in which there is a balance between hardness and disintegration are obtained. Flashtab, Wowtab, Orasolv and Durasolv: They have a number of new technologies emerged. Another option is the use of freeze drying techniques, but has the disadvantage of its high cost. Some special patented technologies such as Lyoc, QuickSolv and Zydis. Finally, these tablets may be made by the method of Crosslinked polymers, also known as FlashDose and is based on the formation of a matrix of interwoven threads sugars