Patologías respiratorias en niños preescolares y su relación con la concentración de contaminantes en el aire en la ciudad de Medellín (Colombia)

Este estudio fue realizado por la Universidad de Medellín y la Universidad CESpara la Secretaría de Salud del municipio de Medellín durante el período comprendidoentre diciembre de 2006 y noviembre de 2007. El objetivo fue establecer laasociación entre la concentración de varios contaminantes atmosféricos en la ciudadde Medellín y la presencia de patologías respiratorias en niños escolarizados.Se trató de un estudio observacional, analítico, de cohorte, en una poblaciónde niños con edad igual o inferior a cinco años. En el estudio se encontró que losniños que residían en zonas de Medellín con altos niveles de PM2.5, PM10, hollíny plomo en el aire aumentan el riesgo de sufrir infecciones respiratorias o crisisasmáticas en un 49.3%

Patologías respiratorias en niños preescolares y su relación con la concentración de contaminantes en el aire en la ciudad de Medellín (Colombia)

Este estudio fue realizado por la Universidad de Medellín y la Universidad CESpara la Secretaría de Salud del municipio de Medellín durante el período comprendidoentre diciembre de 2006 y noviembre de 2007. El objetivo fue establecer laasociación entre la concentración de varios contaminantes atmosféricos en la ciudadde Medellín y la presencia de patologías respiratorias en niños escolarizados.Se trató de un estudio observacional, analítico, de cohorte, en una poblaciónde niños con edad igual o inferior a cinco años. En el estudio se encontró que losniños que residían en zonas de Medellín con altos niveles de PM2.5, PM10, hollíny plomo en el aire aumentan el riesgo de sufrir infecciones respiratorias o crisisasmáticas en un 49.3%

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Patologías respiratorias en niños preescolares y su relación con la concentración de contaminantes en el aire en la ciudad de Medellín (Colombia)

This study was conducted by Universidad de Medellín and Universidad CES for Medellin Municipality Health Secretariat from December 2006 to November 2007. The purpose of this study was to establish the association between concentration of several air pollutants in Medellin City and the presence of respiratory pathologies in school children. It was a cohort analytical observational study conducted to children of 5 years or younger. It was found that children residing in Medellin areas having PM2.5 and PM10 levels of soot and lead in air are at a higher risk (49.3%) of suffering from respiratory infections or asthmatic disorders.Este estudio fue realizado por la Universidad de Medellín y la Universidad CES para la Secretaría de Salud del municipio de Medellín durante el período comprendido entre diciembre de 2006 y noviembre de 2007. El objetivo fue establecer la asociación entre la concentración de varios contaminantes atmosféricos en la ciudad de Medellín y la presencia de patologías respiratorias en niños escolarizados. Se trató de un estudio observacional, analítico, de cohorte, en una población de niños con edad igual o inferior a cinco años. En el estudio se encontró que los niños que residían en zonas de Medellín con altos niveles de PM2.5, PM10, hollín y plomo en el aire aumentan el riesgo de sufrir infecciones respiratorias o crisis asmáticas en un 49.3%

Total Suspended Particle Emissions Modelling in an Industrial Boiler

Particulate matter emission into the atmosphere is a massive-scale problem. Fossil fuel combustion is an important source of this kind of pollution. The knowledge of total suspended particle (TSP) emissions is the first step for TSP control. The formation of TSP emissions is poorly understood; therefore new approaches for TSP emissions source modelling are required. TSP modelling is a multi-variable non-linear problem that would only require basic information on boiler operation. This work reports the development of a non-linear model for TSP emissions estimation from an industrial boiler based on a one-layer neural network. Expansion polynomial basic functions combined with an orthogonal least-square and model structure selection approach were used for modelling. The model required five independent boiler variables for TSP emissions estimation. Data from the data acquisition system of a 350 MW industrial boiler were used for model development and validation. The results show that polynomial expansion basic functions are an excellent approach to solve modelling problems related to complex non-linear systems in the industry

The Ser290Asn and Thr715Pro Polymorphisms of the SELP Gene Are Associated with A Lower Risk of Developing Acute Coronary Syndrome and Low Soluble P-Selectin Levels in A Mexican Population

Recent studies have shown that P-selectin promotes the early formation of atherosclerotic plaque. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the SELP gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with presence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and with plasma P-selectin levels in a case-control association study. The sample size was estimated for a statistical power of 80%. We genotyped three SELP (SELP Ser290Asn, SELP Leu599Val, and SELP Thr715Pro) SNPs using 5&rsquo; exonuclease TaqMan assays in 625 patients with ACS and 700 healthy controls. The associations were evaluated with logistic regressions under the co-dominant, dominant, recessive, over-dominant and additive inheritance models. The genotype contribution to the plasma P-selectin levels was evaluated by a Student&rsquo;s t-test. Under different models, the SELP Ser290Asn (OR = 0.59, pCCo-Dominant = 0.047; OR = 0.59, pCDominant = 0.014; OR = 0.58, pCOver-Dominant = 0.061, and OR = 0.62, pCAdditive = 0.015) and SELP Thr715Pro (OR = 0.61, pCDominant = 0.028; OR = 0.63, pCOver-Dominant = 0.044, and OR = 0.62, pCAdditive = 0.023) SNPs were associated with a lower risk of ACS. In addition, these SNPs were associated with low plasma P-selectin levels. In summary, this study established that the SELP Ser290Asn and SELP Thr715Pro SNPs are associated with a lower risk of developing ACS and with decreased P-selectin levels in plasma in a Mexican population

The COVID-19 Symptom to Isolation Cascade in a Latinx Community: A Call to Action.

BackgroundRapid coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis and isolation of infectious persons are critical to stopping forward transmission, and the care cascade framework can identify gaps in the COVID-19 response.MethodsWe described a COVID-19 symptom to isolation cascade and barriers among symptomatic persons who tested polymerase chain reaction positive for severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at a low-barrier testing site serving a low-income Latinx community in San Francisco. Steps in the cascade are defined as days from symptom onset to test, test to result, and result to counseling on self-isolation. We examined SARS-CoV-2 cycle threshold (Ct) values to assess the likelihood of infectiousness on the day of testing and during missed isolation days.ResultsAmong 145 persons, 97% were Latinx and 81% had an income of &lt;$50 000. The median time from symptom onset to isolation (interquartile range [IQR]) was 7 (5-10) days, leaving a median (IQR) of 3 (0-6) days of isolation. Eighty-three percent had moderate to high levels of virus (Ct &lt;33), but by disclosure 23% were out of their isolation period. The longest intervals were symptom onset to test (median [IQR], 4 [2-9] days) and test to results notification (median [IQR], 3 [2-4] days). Access to a test site was the most common barrier to testing, and food and income loss was the most common barrier to isolation.ConclusionsOver half of the 10-day isolation period passed by the time of disclosure, and over a fifth of people were likely outside the window of infectiousness by the time they received results. Improvements in test access and turnaround time, plus support for isolation, are needed for epidemic control of SARS-CoV-2 in highly impacted communities