Problematic Internet use and adolescents: sport does matter

Más allá de los innumerables beneficios que ha supuesto la expansión de Internet y las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC), cada vez son más los estudios que recalcan también los problemas y riesgos que suele conllevar, especialmente en el caso de los adolescentes. El aumento del sedentarismo y el aislamiento, la distorsión de la socialización, de las pautas de sueño y alimentación y, en general, el uso problemático de Internet, están suscitando una creciente preocupación social a la que expertos e investigadores siguen intentando dar respuesta. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de estrategias educativas o preventivas realmente eficaces es todavía una cuenta pendiente. El fomento de la práctica deportiva de manera regular puede deparar beneficios importantes también en este contexto. El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido precisamente aportar evidencias al respecto, intentando comprobar si efectivamente el hecho de que los adolescentes realicen deporte de forma regular, e incluso vinculados a un club y con licencia federativa, implica tasas de uso problemático de Internet significativamente menores. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de una muestra de 509 estudiantes de entre 10 y 17 años evidencian que realmente así es. Como consecuencia, más allá de las limitaciones muestrales del trabajo empírico y de su carácter exploratorio, lo que se pone sobre la mesa es la importancia que posee a estos niveles la supervisión del tiempo de ocio de nuestros hijos/as y la promoción de la actividad física y deportiva de forma regular. El potencial que a nivel preventivo tienen los programas encaminados a fomentar el deporte entre los adolescentes está, a nuestro modo de ver, aun por aprovecharDespite the countless benefits that the expansion of Internet and New Communication Technologies has brought, every time more studies emphasize problems and risks that they often imply, especially in the case of adolescents. The increase of physical inactivity and isolation, the distortion of socialization, sleeping and eating patterns, as well as problematic Internet use, have provoked rising social concerns that experts and researchers are still trying to respond to. In fact, the development of truly effective educational and preventive strategies is still an unresolved matter. Encouraging regular practice of sport can bring significant benefits even in this context. The aim of this study was to provide evidence that adolescents practicing sport regularly, including those having federal license and belonging to sports clubs, show lower rates of problematic Internet use. Results obtained from a sample of 509 students aged between 10 to 17 years confirm our hypothesis. Consequently, despite sampling limitations of this empirical work and its exploratory character, it is clear that we need to monitor children’s leisure time, as well as to promote regular practice of physical activity and sport. In our view, the preventive potential of programs focused on encouraging adolescents to be active is still unexpressedS

Interleukin 27 could be useful in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusions

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion (TBPE) has some limitations. We studied the efficacy of interleukin-27 (IL-27) in the diagnosis of TBPE. METHODS: We measured IL-27, adenosine deaminase (ADA), ADA-2, interferon-gamma (IFNgamma), and the ADA.IL-27 and ADA-2.IL-27 products in all the pleural effusion fluids. The diagnostic yield of IL-27 was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: Of 431 pleural effusions, 70 were tuberculous, 146 were neoplastic, 58 were parapneumonic, 28 were empyemas, 88 were transudates, and 41 were other types. With a cutoff point of 0.55 ng/mL, IL-27 had a sensitivity of 91.4% and a specificity of 85.1%, which were significantly less than ADA, ADA-2, IFNgamma, ADA.IL-27, or ADA-2.IL-27. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for IL-27 (0.963) was also significantly lower than that for the other markers, except for IFNgamma. However, IL-27 improved the sensitivity of ADA and ADA-2 through ADA.IL-27 and ADA-2.IL-27 products (100% for both). CONCLUSIONS: IL-27 is less efficient than ADA and ADA-2 in the diagnosis of TBPE. However, ADA.IL-27 and ADA-2.IL-27 improve the diagnostic sensitivity of ADA and ADA-2, and thus could be useful in situations of high clinical suspicion and low ADA level. A value above the cutoff point of the latter is practically diagnostic of TBPE

Uso problemático de Internet y adolescentes:: el deporte sí importa

Despite the countless benefits that the expansion of Internet and New Communication Technologies has brought, every time more studies emphasize problems and risks that they often imply, especially in the case of adolescents. The increase of physical inactivity and isolation, the distortion of socialization, sleeping and eating patterns, as well as problematic Internet use, have provoked rising social concerns that experts and researchers are still trying to respond to. In fact, the development of truly effective educational and preventive strategies is still an unresolved matter. Encouraging regular practice of sport can bring significant benefits even in this context. The aim of this study was to provide evidence that adolescents practicing sport regularly, including those having federal license and belonging to sports clubs, show lower rates of problematic Internet use. Results obtained from a sample of 509 students aged between 10 to 17 years confirm our hypothesis. Consequently, despite sampling limitations of this empirical work and its exploratory character, it is clear that we need to monitor children’s leisure time, as well as to promote regular practice of physical activity and sport. In our view, the preventive potential of programs focused on encouraging adolescents to be active is still unexpressed.Más allá de los innumerables beneficios que ha supuesto la expansión de Internet y las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC), cada vez son más los estudios que recalcan también los problemas y riesgos que suele conllevar, especialmente en el caso de los adolescentes. El aumento del sedentarismo y el aislamiento, la distorsión de la socialización, de las pautas de sueño y alimentación y, en general, el uso problemático de Internet, están suscitando una creciente preocupación social a la que expertos e investigadores siguen intentando dar respuesta. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de estrategias educativas o preventivas realmente eficaces es todavía una cuenta pendiente. El fomento de la práctica deportiva de manera regular puede deparar beneficios importantes también en este contexto. El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido precisamente aportar evidencias al respecto, intentando comprobar si efectivamente el hecho de que los adolescentes realicen deporte de forma regular, e incluso vinculados a un club y con licencia federativa, implica tasas de uso problemático de Internet significativamente menores. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de una muestra de 509 estudiantes de entre 10 y 17 años evidencian que realmente así es. Como consecuencia, más allá de las limitaciones muestrales del trabajo empírico y de su carácter exploratorio, lo que se pone sobre la mesa es la importancia que posee a estos niveles la supervisión del tiempo de ocio de nuestros hijos/as y la promoción de la actividad física y deportiva de forma regular. El potencial que a nivel preventivo tienen los programas encaminados a fomentar el deporte entre los adolescentes está, a nuestro modo de ver, aun por aprovechar

Usefulness of Positron Emission Tomography in the Examination of Hilar and Mediastinal Lymphadenopathies in Patients with Suspicion of Lung Cancer

Introduction. Lung cancer is a major health problem. Mediastinal staging performed with the aid of imaging techniques is essential for appropriate disease treatment and prognosis. Accordingly, this study aimed to ascertain the usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET) in mediastinal staging, establish the best maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) cutoff point, compare its usefulness to that of computed tomography (CT), and determine the influence of histological tumour subtype. Methods. We conducted a retrospective study across a period of 3 years on 128 patients with suspicion of lung cancer and analyzed their demographic and radiological characteristics using CT and PET to perform the mediastinal examination. Histology was regarded as the gold standard. Results. PET displayed a high sensitivity (95%) and negative predictive value (NPV) (92%), outperforming CT (89% and 85%, respectively). Percentage agreement with histology was also higher (0.207 and 0.241 for CT and PET, respectively; p<0.001). Taking an SUVmax value of 0.5 as that which would ensure greatest diagnostic accuracy, S and NPV were 100%, though percentage agreement did not increase (0.189; p<0.001). PET discriminatory power was not affected by histological tumour subtype. Conclusions. The results of our study indicate that PET might be a useful test for examination of the mediastinum in lung cancer patients. Its high NPV suggests that the absence of mediastinal uptake could be used to proceed to surgical treatment without the need for further tests or examinations. Nevertheless, studies directly aimed to answer this specific question are needed