Los trastornos de la personalidad en adictos a la heroína y la seroconversión al VIH, una asociación relevante

Introducción. En los últimos años ha aumentado considerablemente la preocupación sobre el diagnóstico y tratamiento de los pacientes con abuso de drogas, trastornos de la personalidad y seroconversión a VIH (virus de la inmunode? ciencia humana). Objetivo del estudio es profundizar en la pluripatología que estos pacientes presentan, y comprender qué factores pueden ser determinantes en el desarrollo de su patología. Pacientes y método. Estudio descriptivo y transversal. Se ha relacionado la comorbilidad psiquiátrica con las variables: determinación del VIH, vía de administración y abuso o polidrogodependencia a otras drogas. Y también la comorbilidad de la positividad del VIH con las variables: diagnóstico psiquiátrico de la patología asociada, vía de administración y abuso o polidrogodependencia a otras drogas. Resultados. Se ha incluido 349 pacientes del Hospital Santa Maria de Lleida. Un 29,5% (n= 103) de la muestra presenta un trastorno antisocial de la personalidad y un 6,6% (n= 23) un trastorno límite de la personalidad. Se observó como el grupo con trastorno antisocial de la personalidad presentaba una mayor proporción de VIH positivos 49,5%, (n= 46) que cualquier de los otros dos grupos. Estas diferencias han resultado estadísticamente signi? cativas, de manera que los pacientes afectados por trastorno antisocial de la personalidad presentaban un riesgo 2,3 veces superior a tener positividad al VIH que los pacientes sin comorbilidad asociada. Conclusiones. La psicopatología está significativamente asociada con niveles más altos de conductas de riesgo relacionadas con el VIH en pacientes drogodependientes

Seguimiento y control de pacientes fumadores en proceso de deshabituación mediante SMS: una experiencia en e-salud

El consumo de tabaco continúa siendo una importante causa de morbilidad y mortalidad. El proceso terapéutico para abandonar el tabaco consiste en la desintoxicación física de la nicotina y en el mantenimiento de la abstinencia de su consumo. Nuestro estudio se sitúa en este contexto, ofreciendo una estrategia de apoyo por SMS y monitorizando al paciente a lo largo del tratamiento. Material y método. Este estudio longitudinal compara dos grupos de pacientes: uno con apoyo a través de SMS y otro, de control, que no disfruta de dicho apoyo. Los pacientes recibieron aleatoriamente mensajes de apoyo y refuerzo positivo, así como preguntas sobre su estado. El resto de la terapia es igual para ambos grupos. Resultados. El grupo que recibía apoyo por SMS presentó unas tasas de abstinencia mejores que el otro (57,1% frente a 42,9%). Los mismos participantes valoran positivamente la metodología y admiten que les ahorra tiempo y viajes. Conclusión. El uso de las TIC para monitorizar y reforzar el proceso de desintoxicación del consumo de tabaco parece ser efectivo y bien acogido por los pacientes.Tobacco consumption continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The therapeutic process of giving up smoking consists of the physical detoxification of nicotine as well as maintaining abstinence from its consumption. Our study lies in this context, offering a strategy by means of SMS support and monitoring patients throughout their treatment. Material and method. This longitudinal study compares two groups of patients, one with support via SMS and a control group without this support. Patients randomly received support messages and positive reinforcement as well as questions about their status. The rest of the therapy is equal in both groups. Results. The abstinence rates obtained among the group with SMS support were better than those of the other group (57.1% as opposed to 42.9%). They themselves value the methodology successfully, recognizing that it saves time and travel. Conclusion. The use of ICT in the monitoring and support of the detoxification process of tobacco consumption appears to be effective and well accepted by patients

Processing speed in youth football players

Processing speed is the response efficiency in stimulus processing tasks (Lezak, 2004). Optimal levels of this capacity are required to perform efficiently in di↵erent sport settings. Indeed, expert athletes have shown superior processing speed capacities in wide range of general cognitive tasks (Voss et al., 2010, for a review).Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deport

A Machine-Learning Model for Lung Age Forecasting by Analyzing Exhalations

Spirometers are important devices for following up patients with respiratory diseases. These are mainly located only at hospitals, with all the disadvantages that this can entail. This limits their use and consequently, the supervision of patients. Research efforts focus on providing digital alternatives to spirometers. Although less accurate, the authors claim they are cheaper and usable by many more people worldwide at any given time and place. In order to further popularize the use of spirometers even more, we are interested in also providing user-friendly lung-capacity metrics instead of the traditional-spirometry ones. The main objective, which is also the main contribution of this research, is to obtain a person’s lung age by analyzing the properties of their exhalation by means of a machine-learning method. To perform this study, 188 samples of blowing sounds were used. These were taken from 91 males (48.4%) and 97 females (51.6%) aged between 17 and 67. A total of 42 spirometer and frequency-like features, including gender, were used. Traditional machine-learning algorithms used in voice recognition applied to the most significant features were used. We found that the best classification algorithm was the Quadratic Linear Discriminant algorithm when no distinction was made between gender. By splitting the corpus into age groups of 5 consecutive years, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of, respectively, 94.69%, 94.45% and 99.45% were found. Features in the audio of users’ expiration that allowed them to be classified by their corresponding lung age group of 5 years were successfully detected. Our methodology can become a reliable tool for use with mobile devices to detect lung abnormalities or diseases.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under contract PID2020-113614RB-C22

Accacoelium contortum (Trematoda : Accacoeliidae) a trematode living as a monogenean: morphological and pathological implications

Accacoelium contortum (Rudolphi, 1819) Monticelli, 1893 is a frequent but poorly known trematode found on gills, pharynx and digestive tract of the ocean sunfish Mola mola (L.). Although the morphology of A. contortum agrees with that of a typical endoparasitic trematode, with two relatively small suckers and no large holdfasts, this parasite is normally ectoparasitic. The main objective of this paper is to explore this peculiar host-parasite relationship. A total of 106 ocean sunfish were examined for the presence of A. contortum. The oropharyngeal chamber (gills and pharynx) and the digestive tract were analysed. As the previous descriptions of this species seem to be based on contracted specimens, for the morphological study the parasites were killed using two methods: with hot 70 % ethanol (with relaxed bodies) and with 70 % ethanol at room temperature (with contracted bodies). For histological studies, samples from fresh fish with parasitised left gills, pharynx and digestive tract were fixed in buffered 10 % formalin. For molecular studies the 18S, 28S and ITS-2 sequences were provided and compared with the available data in GenBank®. New information on the morphology of A. contortum and on the parasite-related response and pathological alterations in the host are given. New diagnostic traits for some structures are provided: e.g. tegumental papillae of the forebody with apical digitiform swellings and mouth surrounded by a circum-oral crown of simple papillae. The length of the ventral sucker peduncle and the position of the vitellarium were found to be associated with the contraction degree of the specimen. Immature individuals of this species are described for the first time. An intense proliferative inflammatory response of host gill and pharynx epithelium at the host-parasite interface was detected and parasites became partially covered by overgrowths of host tissues. The induction of prominent histological alterations associated with A. contortum seems to be an adaptation to the external environment, an unusual location for trematodes

A Free App for Diagnosing Burnout (BurnOut App): Development Study

Background: Health specialists take care of us, but who takes care of them? These professionals are the most vulnerable to the increasingly common syndrome known as burnout. Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as a result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Objective: This study aims to develop a useful app providing burnout self-diagnosis and tracking of burnout through a simple, intuitive, and user-friendly interface. Methods: We present the BurnOut app, an Android app developed using the Xamarin and MVVMCross platforms, which allows users to detect critical cases of psychological discomfort by implementing the Goldberg and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory tests. Results: The BurnOut app is robust, user-friendly, and efficient. The good performance of the app was demonstrated by comparing its features with those of similar apps in the literature. Conclusions: The BurnOut app is very useful for health specialists or users, in general, to detect burnout early and track its evolution.This work was supported by project PID2020-113614RB-C22, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. JV is a Serra Húnter fello

Continuous Apical Negative-Pressure Ultrasonic Irrigation (CANUI) : a new concept for activating irrigants

Background: Irrigation of the root canal system is an essential step in the endodontic treatment. The aim of this article is to introduce continuous apical negative-pressure ultrasonic irrigation (CANUI), a new irrigation concept, and compare the characteristics of this new technique with current devices for activating the irrigant. Material and Methods: CANUI is designed for cleaning and disinfecting the root canal system. The device consists of a tube inside another tube that allows the continuous ultrasonic exchange of fresh irrigant, as the irrigant is simultaneously aspirated apically. The coronal and apical tubes are 0.75 and 0.3 mm in diameter, respectively. It is composed of a nickel-titanium microcannula suitable for the working length of curved canals. Results: The CANUI technique has the advantages of apical negative pressure (to avoid apical extrusion of the irrigant) and continuous ultrasonic irrigation (continuous refreshment of the irrigant and forced introduction into the canal ramifications). Conclusions: The CANUI technique could improve the irrigation technique of dentists to reach more disinfection in endodontic treatments