Índices de sustitución en cirugía mayor ambulatoria: medir, contar y comparar

ResumenObjetivoComparar los índices de sustitución de la actividad realizada por cirugía mayor ambulatoria en el Hospital Vall d’Hebron con aquellos índices obtenidos por el conjunto de hospitales públicos de Catalunya, los cuales constituyen la Xarxa Hospitalaria d’Utilització Pública (XHUP).MétodosSe calculan los índices de sustitución del 65% de los Grupos Relacionados en el Diagnóstico (GRD) susceptibles de cirugía sin ingreso del Hospital Vall d’Hebron y los de la XHUP para después poder calcular y comparar las medias de los dos grupos. Para ello se utilizan las bases de datos del CMBDH de los años 1998 y 1999.ResultadosLas medias de los índices de sustitución son de un 48,88% para el Hospital Vall d’Hebron y de un 35,14% para los hospitales de la XHUP. Esta diferencia es estadísticamente significativa (p < 0,0001) calculada con un nivel de significación de un 5%. También se observa que los DRG con índices de sustitución más elevados son coincidentes en los dos grupos y son los siguientes: 039, 229, 364, 262, 062, 362 y 342.ConclusionesConsiderando las actuales técnicas de benchmarking en el ámbito sanitario, este trabajo demuestra que los índices de sustitución son una herramienta válida a utilizar para comparar hospitales, especialmente en el caso que se pudiera trabajar con bases de datos robustas.SummaryObjectiveCompare the substitution indexes of the ambulatory surgery activity done in the Vall d’Hebron Hospital with those indexes obtained from the all public hospitals of Catalonia which constitute the Public Hospital Net.MethodsThere have been calculated the substitution indexes of the 65% of DRGs which are treated with ambulatory surgery at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital and in the global of public hospital net in Catalonia. For this pourpose, it has been used the MBDS of the years 1998 and 1999. The means of the substitution indexes have been compared with a Z test.ResultsThe means of the substitution indexes are of a 48.88% for the Vall d’Hebron Hospital and of a 35.14% for the whole public hospitals. The difference is statically significant (p < 0.0001). Moreover, the highest substitution indexes are the same for both groups and are the follow: 039, 229,364, 262, 062, 362 y 342.ConclusionsTaking into account the present techniques of benchmarking in the health care field, this work shows that the substitution indexes are a valid tool that can be used to compare hospitals, specially in the case that it could be possible to work with robust data bases

Spectral Properties of the Core and the VLBI-Jets of Cygnus A

We present a detailed VLBI study of the spectral properties of the inner core region of the radio galaxy Cygnus A at 5 GHz, 15 GHz, 22 GHz, 43 GHz and 86 GHz. Our observations include an epoch using phase-referencing at 15 GHz and 22 GHz and the first successful VLBI observations of Cygnus A at 86 GHz. We find a pronounced two-sided jet structure, with a steep spectrum along the jet and an inverted spectrum towards the counter-jet. The inverted spectrum and the frequency-dependent jet-to-counter-jet ratio suggest that the inner counter-jet is covered by a circum-nuclear absorber as it is proposed by the unified scheme.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the 7th EVN Symposium held in Toledo, Spain in October 2004, needs evn2004.cl

La novedad del concepto de actualidad para el problema de la presencia real de Cristo en la Eucaristía. Un aporte desde la noología de Xavier Zubiri

La teología sacramental ha realizado su reflexión respecto de la presencia real de Cristo en la Eucaristía y la razón formal de ella desde una metafísica de la sustancia. En el presente artículo se presenta, desde la filosofía zubiriana, otra posibilidad conceptual para la reflexión teológica de la Eucaristía. Nuevos conceptos direccionales que apunten en mejor dirección, por una parte, a precisar el punto radical de lo misterioso del misterio y, por otra, la razón formal de la Eucaristía, cual es la co-corporeidad con Cristo, abarcando las dimensiones individual, social e histórica. Xavier Zubiri trató de manera explícita el tema de la Eucaristía en textos de diversa data y en ellos se muestra cómo el concepto de actualidad va ganando terreno y los alcances que este tiene respecto de la razón formal de la Eucaristía: configurar un solo cuerpo, una sola actualidad

erbB-2 antisense oligonucleotides inhibit the proliferation of breast carcinoma cells with erbB-2 oncogene amplification.

Amplification and overexpression of the erbB-2 oncogene is an unfavourable prognostic marker in human breast cancer and occurs in approximately 25% of breast carcinomas. We used erbB-2 antisense oligonucleotides to inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cell lines. erbB-2 antisense oligonucleotides (20 microM) inhibited the growth and DNA synthesis of breast cancer cell lines with an amplified erbB-2 gene by up to 60%. Control complementary sense oligonucleotides did not inhibit cellular proliferation at the same concentration but showed inhibitory effects at higher concentrations. There was no specific effect of erbB-2 antisense oligonucleotides on breast cancer cell lines that had no amplification of erbB-2. erbB-2 antisense oligonucleotides reduced erbB-2 protein levels, measured by immunohistochemistry, in a dose-dependent manner. erbB-2 sense oligonucleotides did not decrease the levels of erbB-2 protein. These data indicate that erbB-2 antisense oligonucleotides induce a specific inhibition of erbB-2 protein expression and that erbB-2 gene overexpression is important for the proliferation of the breast cancer cells that have been selected for erbB-2 amplification

Polymorphic fingerprint as an approach to authenticate Iberian pig categories

High-commercial-value products are often susceptible to food fraud. Among them, Iberian dry-cured ham is highly appreciated due to its particular and sensory, but also nutritional, properties. There are four different Iberian ham categories (namely bellota, recebo, cebo de campo and cebo), which directly depend on the rearing system of the pig during the last stage of the fattening phase. However, there is still a lack of a normalized and robust method capable of authenticating the different product categories and, therefore, preventing mislabeling. In the present work, we characterized the polymorphic behavior of raw (before curing) lipid extracts belonging to the four categories of Iberian pig. A total of 80 different samples were analyzed by DSC, and synchrotron radiation XRD experiments were carried out for selected ones. The results obtained showed that bellota and recebo categories exhibited essentially the same crystallization and polymorphic behavior and this was significantly different (p < 0.05) from that of cebo de campo and cebo. The latter exhibited higher crystallization and melting temperatures than bellota and recebo samples, due to the occurrence of an additional β′-2L polymorphic form. By considering the differences in rearing systems of pigs belonging to the different categories, we concluded that the key factor which determined the polymorphism of Iberian pig lipid extracts was not the physical exercise practiced by the pig, but the inclusion of acorns in the feeding system. This work demonstrated that thermal and crystallographic techniques, like DSC and XRD, may be promoted to be used as fingerprinting tools for the authentication of high-value food products

A Study of the Formation of Single- and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by a CVD Method

The reduction in H2/CH4 atmosphere of aluminum-iron oxides produces metal particles small enough to catalyze the formation of single-walled carbon nanotubes. Several experiments have been made using the same temperature profile and changing only the maximum temperature (800-1070 °C). Characterizations of the catalyst materials are performed using notably 57Fe Mo¨ssbauer spectroscopy. Electron microscopy and a macroscopical method are used to characterize the nanotubes. The nature of the iron species (Fe3+, R-Fe, ç-Fe-C, Fe3C) is correlated to their location in the material. The nature of the particles responsible for the high-temperature formation of the nanotubes is probably an Fe-C alloy which is, however, found as Fe3C by postreaction analysis. Increasing the reduction temperature increases the reduction yield and thus favors the formation of surface-metal particles, thus producing more nanotubes. The obtained carbon nanotubes are mostly single-walled and double-walled with an average diameter close to 2.5 nm. Several formation mechanisms are thought to be active. In particular, it is shown that the second wall can grow inside the first one but that subsequent ones are formed outside. It is also possible that under given experimental conditions, the smallest (<2 nm) catalyst particles preferentially produce double-walled rather than single-walled carbon nanotubes

Specific involvement of gonadal hormones in the functional maturation of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) neurons

Growth hormone (GH) is the key hormone involved in the regulation of growth and metabolism, two functions that are highly modulated during infancy. GH secretion, controlled mainly by GH releasing hormone (GHRH), has a characteristic pattern during postnatal development that results in peaks of blood concentration at birth and puberty. A detailed knowledge of the electrophysiology of the GHRH neurons is necessary to understand the mechanisms regulating postnatal GH secretion. Here, we describe the unique postnatal development of the electrophysiological properties of GHRH neurons and their regulation by gonadal hormones. Using GHRH-eGFP mice, we demonstrate that already at birth, GHRH neurons receive numerous synaptic inputs and fire large and fast action potentials (APs), consistent with effective GH secretion. Concomitant with the GH secretion peak occurring at puberty, these neurons display modifications of synaptic input properties, decrease in AP duration, and increase in a transient voltage-dependant potassium current. Furthermore, the modulation of both the AP duration and voltage-dependent potassium current are specifically controlled by gonadal hormones because gonadectomy prevented the maturation of these active properties and hormonal treatment restored it. Thus, GHRH neurons undergo specific developmental modulations of their electrical properties over the first six postnatal weeks, in accordance with hormonal demand. Our results highlight the importance of the interaction between the somatotrope and gonadotrope axes during the establishment of adapted neuroendocrine functions

Natural hybridization between pen shell species: Pinna rudis and the critically endangered Pinna nobilis may explain parasite resistance in P. nobilis

Recently, Pinna nobilis pen shells population in Mediterranean Sea has plummeted due to a Mass Mortality Event caused by an haplosporidian parasite. In consequence, this bivalve species has been included in the IUCN Red List as “Critically Endangered”. In the current scenario, several works are in progress to protect P. nobilis from extinction, being identification of hybrids (P. nobilis x P. rudis) among survivors extremely important for the conservation of the species. Morphological characteristics and molecular analyses were used to identify putative hybrids. A total of 10 individuals of each species (P. nobilis and P. rudis) and 3 doubtful individuals were considered in this study. The putative hybrids showed shell morphology and mantle coloration intermingled exhibiting both P. nobilis and P. rudis traits. Moreover, the analyses of 1150 bp of the 28S gene showed 9 diagnostic sites between P. rudis and P. nobilis, whereas hybrids showed both parental diagnostic alleles at the diagnostic loci. Regarding the multilocus genotypes from the 8 microsatellite markers, the segregation of two Pinna species was clearly detected on the PCoA plot and the 3 hybrids showed intermediate positions. This is the first study evidencing the existence of hybrids P. nobilis x P. rudis, providing molecular methodology for a proper identification of new hybrids. Further studies testing systematically all parasite-resisting isolated P. nobilis should be undertaken to determine if the resistance is resulting from introgression of P. rudis into P. nobilis genome and identifying aspects related to resistance.En prens