Diferencias de género en el éxito al dejar de fumar: resultados a corto y largo plazo [Gender differences in success at quitting smoking: Short- and long-term outcomes]

Los tratamientos para dejar de fumar son eficaces en hombres y mujeres. Sin embargo, las posibles diferencias encontradas en los resultados del tratamiento aún son objeto de controversia. Este estudio analiza si existen diferencias entre hombres y mujeres en el éxito al dejar de fumar a corto y largo plazo (> 1 año) con un programa de tratamiento que incluye la perspectiva de género. Se realizó una encuesta telefónica en fumadores atendidos en una unidad de tabaquismo. Los pacientes que completaron con éxito el tratamiento (3 meses), fueron encuestados telefónicamente para determinar su abstinencia a largo plazo; se validó la abstinencia mediante cooximetría (CO espirado =10 ppm) en los que se mantenían abstinentes. La probabilidad de permanecer abstinentes a largo plazo se calculó utilizando un análisis de supervivencia de Kaplan-Meier. La tasa de éxito del tratamiento fue de 41, 3% (538/1302), sin diferencias por sexo. El 89% (479/538) fue localizado por teléfono y el 47, 6% (256/479) se mantenía abstinente sin diferencias por sexo (p = , 519); la abstinencia fue validada en 191 de 256 (53, 9% hombres y 46, 1% mujeres). En el análisis de supervivencia, la probabilidad de que los hombres y las mujeres mantuvieran la abstinencia a largo plazo no fue significativa. No hay diferencias por sexo en el resultado del tratamiento para dejar de fumar, que incluyan aspectos de género, a corto y largo plazo (> 1 año). Smoking cessation treatments are effective in men and women. However, possible sex-related differences in the outcome of these treatments remain a controversial topic. This study evaluated whether there were differences between men and women in the success of smoking cessation treatment, including gender-tailored components, in the short and long term (> 1 year). A telephone survey was carried out between September 2008 and June 2009 in smokers attended in a Smoking Cessation Clinic. All patients who have successfully completed treatment (3 months) were surveyed by telephone to determine their long-term abstinence. Those who remained abstinent were requested to attend the Smoking Cessation Clinic for biochemical validation (expired CO =10 ppm). The probability of remaining abstinent in the long-term was calculated using a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The treatment success rate at 3-months was 41.3% (538/1302) with no differences by sex 89% (479/538) among those located in the telephonic follow-up study and 47.6% (256/479) were abstinent without differences by sex (p =.519); abstinence was validated with CO less than 10 ppm in 191 of the 256 (53.9% men and 46.1% women). In the survival analysis, the probability of men and women remaining abstinent in the long-term was not significant. There are no differences by sex in the outcome of smoking cessation treatment that included gender-tailored components in the short and long term (> 1 year)

Comparative study of different analytical methods for the determination of sterols in human serum by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry

The determination of sterols in human serum allows the diagnosis of inherited disorders in cholesterol metabolism and the evaluation of cardiovascular disease risk. Ten sterols were included in this work: desmosterol and lanosterol (cholesterol precursors); stigmasterol, cholestanol, campesterol, sitosterol and sitostanol (phystosterols) and 7-α-hydroxy 4-cholesten-3-one, 24-hydroxycholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol (oxysterols). Historically, sterols have been analyzed by gas chromatography, which involves laborious and time-consuming derivatization steps. Nowadays, liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has also been used for the analysis of sterols in serum and mammalian cells and tissues.The aim of this study is to reduce the sample processing time of the determination of sterols in human serum.Two different approaches have been compared: an off-line and on-line system. Both methods need a suitable cartridge for cleaning the sample before its subsequent chromatography analysis. Solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges were used for off-line sample treatment. Six different retention mechanisms were studied, including nonpolar, polar and ionic interactions. In the on-line system, the sample treatment was conducted with the help of a restricted access material (RAM). This sorbent represent a special class of materials that are able to fractionate a biological sample into protein and analyte fractions, based on molecular weight cut-off. The limits of quantification obtained in the off-line method were between 8 and 274 ng/mL. In the on-line method limits of detection and quantification found ranged between 0.01 ng/mL (7-α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one) and 0.5 μg/mL (sitostanol) and from 0.03 ng/mL and 1.7 μg/mL respectively

Desarrollo de un método analítico para la determinación de esteroles en suero humano mediante un sistema on-line extracción en fase sólida-cromatografía de líquidos-espectrometría de masas

Se ha desarrollado un método analítico para determinar cinco esteroles presentes en suero humano. Los esteroles son biomoléculas marcadoras de enfermedades hereditarias relacionadas con el metabolismo del colesterol como la Hipercolesterolemia Familiar. El sistema realiza el tratamiento de muestra, cromatografía y detección de forma automática, facilitando el procesamiento y análisis de muestras biológicas

El paper d'un laboratori de psicologia anormal dins un hospital universitari

Les planes que segueixen miren de posar en relleu les competències, les funcions i els avantatges d'un laboratori de psicologia anormal dins un hospital universitari. Un laboratori així hauria d'ésser de recerca bàsica, i no tant per ella mateixa sinó com a dinamo de qualsevol altre tipus de recerca. Si no hi ha cap laboratori com el proposat al nostre país. país, és degut, en principi, a la irracional distribució de la renda i a la irracional organització social. D'altra banda, en absència d'aquestes irracionalitats però sense autogovern, aquest laboratori fóra a uns 700 km de distancia, a Madrid. Som molt conscients que ara com ara no és possible de fundar laboratoris com cal. Però també estam convençuts que no cal restar amb les mans plegades,..

Adherence to treatment to help quit smoking: effects of task performance and coping with withdrawal symptoms

Background: Currently the combined cognitive-behavioral and pharmacological treatment is the best option to quit smoking, although success rates remain moderate. This study aimed to identify predictors of continuous abstinence in an assisted smoking cessation program using combined treatment. In particular, we analyzed the effects of socio-demographic, smoking-, and treatment-related variables. In addition, we analyzed the effect of several risk factors on abstinence, and estimated a model of risk for smoking relapse.Methods: Participants were 125 workers at the University of Granada (50 males), with an average age of 46.91 years (SD = 8.15). They were recruited between 2009 and 2013 at an occupational health clinic providing smoking cessation treatment. Baseline measures included socio-demographic data, preferred brand of cigarettes, number of years smoking, use of alcohol and/or tranquilizers, past attempts to quit, Fargerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, Smoking Processes of Change Scale, and Coping with Withdrawal Symptoms Interview. Participants were invited to a face-to-face assessment of smoking abstinence using self-report and cooximetry hemoglobin measures at 3, 6, and 12 months follow-up. The main outcome was smoking status coded as “relapse” versus “abstinence” at each follow-up. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to estimate the probability of continued abstinence during 12 months and log-rank tests were used to analyze differences in continued abstinence as a function of socio-demographic, smoking-, and treatment-related variables. Cox regression was used to analyze the simultaneous effect of several risk factors on abstinence.Results: Using alcohol and/or tranquilizers was related to shorter abstinence. Physical exercise, the number of treatment sessions, performance of treatment tasks, and coping with withdrawal symptoms were related to prolonged abstinence. In particular, failure to perform the treatment tasks tripled the risk of relapse, while lack of coping doubled it.Conclusions: Our results show that physical exercise, performance of treatment-related tasks, and effective coping with withdrawal symptoms can prolong abstinence from smoking. Programs designed to help quit smoking can benefit from the inclusion of these factors.This research was supported by the Occupational Medicine Area (Prevention Service) of the University of Granada

Incidence, clinical characteristics and management of inflammatory bowel disease in Spain: large-scale epidemiological study

(1) Aims: To assess the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spain, to describe the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics at diagnosis and the evolution of the disease, and to explore the use of drug treatments. (2) Methods: Prospective, population-based nationwide registry. Adult patients diagnosed with IBD—Crohn’s disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or IBD unclassified (IBD-U)—during 2017 in Spain were included and were followed-up for 1 year. (3) Results: We identified 3611 incident cases of IBD diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals covering over 22 million inhabitants. The overall incidence (cases/100, 000 person-years) was 16 for IBD, 7.5 for CD, 8 for UC, and 0.5 for IBD-U; 53% of patients were male and median age was 43 years (interquartile range = 31–56 years). During a median 12-month follow-up, 34% of patients were treated with systemic steroids, 25% with immunomodulators, 15% with biologics and 5.6% underwent surgery. The percentage of patients under these treatments was significantly higher in CD than UC and IBD-U. Use of systemic steroids and biologics was significantly higher in hospitals with high resources. In total, 28% of patients were hospitalized (35% CD and 22% UC patients, p < 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The incidence of IBD in Spain is rather high and similar to that reported in Northern Europe. IBD patients require substantial therapeutic resources, which are greater in CD and in hospitals with high resources, and much higher than previously reported. One third of patients are hospitalized in the first year after diagnosis and a relevant proportion undergo surgery. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Innovation and entrepreneurship as strategies for success among Cuban-based firms in the late years of the transatlantic slave trade

This article examines how Cuban-based firms and entrepreneurs circumvented ever- increasing risks in the illegal slave trade. The article sheds light to this question by analyzing new qualitative information of 65 Cuban-based firms against the Slavevoyages database. Our findings indicate that Cuban-based firms were entrepreneurial as they exploited the opportunities arising from the volatility of the slave trade by: (a) internalizing networks of agents which allowed the rapid diffusion of information, (b) diversifying trading goods and expanding the number of partnerships to reduce transaction costs and risk, and (c) adopting technological innovations that modified the design and use of vessels