Elderly day care centers: Recommendations for improvement

Indexación: Scopus.Introduction: Chile has become a country that continues to grow at an accelerated pace. One of the key pieces of the Comprehensive Policy for Positive Aging for Chile is the development of Day Centers for the Elderly (CDPM) directed elderly at the foot of the dependency. Objective: To know the perception of a group of PMs, their caregivers and professionals of their participation in the CDPM with the purpose of designing recommendations to improve this new type of geriatric service established in the country. Methodology: Qualitative descriptive study performed in 30 participants through 4 focus groups: 2 in elderly (n=12), 1 with caregivers (n=8) and 1 with center professionals (n=10). Results: Two main comprehensive categories were identified: 1) Perception of benefits for elderly: improvement of functionality, increase of well-being and insertion of the social mayor, 2) Recommendations for improvement of CDPM: Criteria for inclusive income, flexibility and diversity in activities stipulated and Improvements in egress. Conclusions: The elderly, their caregivers and the professionals who attend them are consistent in pointing out that elderly assistance to this type of service reports benefits in its functionality, well-being and social insertion. This study contributes to broadening the understanding of results in the uses of CDPM by reporting an experience in a particular social context. © 2018 Spanish Publishers Associate. All rights reserved.Introduction: Chile has become a country that continues to grow at an accelerated pace. One of the key pieces of the Comprehensive Policy for Positive Aging for Chile is the development of Day Centers for the Elderly (CDPM) directed elderly at the foot of the dependency. Objective: To know the perception of a group of PMs, their caregivers and professionals of their participation in the CDPM with the purpose of designing recommendations to improve this new type of geriatric service established in the country. Methodology: Qualitative descriptive study performed in 30 participants through 4 focus groups: 2 in elderly (n=12), 1 with caregivers (n=8) and 1 with center professionals (n=10). Results: Two main comprehensive categories were identified: 1) Perception of benefits for elderly: improvement of functionality, increase of well-being and insertion of the social mayor, 2) Recommendations for improvement of CDPM: Criteria for inclusive income, flexibility and diversity in activities stipulated and Improvements in egress. Conclusions: The elderly, their caregivers and the professionals who attend them are consistent in pointing out that elderly assistance to this type of service reports benefits in its functionality, well-being and social insertion. This study contributes to broadening the understanding of results in the uses of CDPM by reporting an experience in a particular social context.http://www.gerokomos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/29-1-2018-009.pd

Enhancement of photoacoustic detection of inhomogeneities in polymers

We report a series of experiments on laser pulsed photoacoustic excitationin turbid polymer samples addressed to evaluate the sound speed in the samples and the presence of inhomogeneities in the bulk. We describe a system which allows the direct measurement of the speed of the detected waves by engraving the surface of the piece under study with a fiduciary pattern of black lines. We also describe how this pattern helps to enhance the sensitivity for the detection of an inhomogeneity in the bulk. These two facts are useful for studies in soft matter systems including, perhaps, biological samples. We have performed an experimental analysis on Grilon(R) samples in different situations and we show the limitations of the method.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Ice Age megafauna rock art in the Colombian Amazon?

Megafauna paintings have accompanied the earliest archaeological contexts across the continents, revealing a fundamental inter-relationship between early humans and megafauna during the global human expansion as unfamiliar landscapes were humanized and identities built into new territories. However, the identification of extinct megafauna from rock art is controversial. Here, we examine potential megafauna depictions in the rock art of Serranía de la Lindosa, Colombian Amazon, that includes a giant sloth, a gomphothere, a camelid, horses and three-toed ungulates with trunks. We argue that they are Ice Age rock art based on the (i) naturalistic appearance and diagnostic morphological features of the animal images, (ii) late Pleistocene archaeological dates from La Lindosa confirming the contemporaneity of humans and megafauna, (iii) recovery of ochre pigments in late Pleistocene archaeological strata, (iv) the presence of most megafauna identified in the region during the late Pleistocene as attested by archaeological and palaeontological records, and (v) widespread depiction of extinct megafauna in rock art across the Americas. Our findings contribute to the emerging picture of considerable geographical and stylistic variation of geometric and figurative rock art from early human occupations across South America. Lastly, we discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the early human history of tropical South America. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Tropical forests in the deep human past’.1. Introduction 2. Early rock art in the Americas, study region and brief archaeological background 3. The La Lindosa rock art 4. The megafauna paintings (a) Giant ground sloth (Megatheriidae) (b) Proboscidean (Gomphotheriidae) (c) Horse (Equidae) (d) Camelid (Camelidae) (e) Macraucheniid (Macraucheniidae) 5. Concluding remark

Human activities, biostratigraphy and past environment revealed by small-mammal associations at the chalcolithic levels of El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Atapuerca, Spain)

The Chalcolithic levels of El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) offer a good opportunity to test whether the small-mammal contents of different archaeo-stratigraphical units may be useful to characterize them as independent entities. With that purpose, we studied representative samples of small-mammal remains from the two main contexts identified: the Early Chalcolithic (EC) funerary context and the Late Chalcolithic (LC) habitat/stabling context, with the latter comprising three different archaeological units according to their origin, namely prepared floors, activity floors and stabling surfaces or fumiers. Following the distribution of taxa in their respective contexts, we performed several statistical tests to check for significant discrepancies between archaeological units. The exclusive presence of certain taxa, together with the statistical difference in relative taxonomic ratios, points to the integrity and unpolluted condition of the EC context. The interspersed arrangement of the different LC context’s units made them prone to inter-pollution as they are not statistically different. The unexpected presence of Pliomys lenki and Chionomys nivalis in the prepared floors evidences their Upper Pleistocene allochthonous origin. The EC levels of El Portalón contribute the first Holocene records of nine taxa in the Sierra de Atapuerca. An environment dominated by woodland, shrubland and wet meadows, with moderate presence of grassland, inland wetlands and rocky areas, is inferred from the small-mammal association of the EC levels

Thermal Decomposition of CxF2 x+1C(O)OONO2(x = 2, 3, 4)

The atmospheric degradation of molecules containing the CxF2x+1C(O) moiety, such as perfluoroaldehydes CxF2x+1C(O)H (x = 2-4) formed in the degradation of telomeric alcohols, could lead to the formation of perfluoroacyl peroxynitrates CxF2x+1C(O)OONO2. The thermal decomposition of the CxF2x+1C(O)OONO2 family (x = 2, 3, 4) was investigated by infrared spectroscopy and computational models. Each peroxynitrate synthesis was performed through the photolysis of gas mixtures of the corresponding perfluoroaldehyde, chlorine, nitrogen dioxide, and oxygen. Kinetic analysis for the thermal decomposition of peroxynitrates were performed in the range from 297.0 to 313.7 K at a total pressure of 1000 mbar and the activation energy was experimentally determined. Experimental data were complemented with theoretical data using the Gaussian09 Program Suite. The structures of peroxynitrates were optimized using DFT methods. The activation energies were calculated and investigated taking into account the stereoelectronic effects and using theoretical calculations as well as NBO analysis. The influence of anomeric interaction over the O-N bond was evaluated for all the molecules. Analysis of the results shows that CxF2x+1C(O)OONO2 stability is independent of CxF2x+1 chain length, in contrast to the behavior for perfluoroalkyl peroxynitrates (CxF2x+1OONO2).Fil: Vila, Jesús Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Iriarte, Ana Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Chiappero, Malisa Susana. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Malanca, Fabio Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentin

Effect of substrate-target distance and sputtering pressure in the synthesis of AlN thin films

In this work, we analyze the influence of the processing pressure and the substrate–target distance on the synthesis by reactive sputtering of c-axis oriented polycrystalline aluminum nitride thin films deposited on Si(100) wafers. The crystalline quality of AlN has been characterized by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD). The films exhibited a very high degree of c-axis orientation especially when a low process pressure was used. After growth, residual stress measurements obtained indirectly from radius of curvature measurements of the wafer prior and after deposition are also provided. Two different techniques are used to determine the curvature—an optically levered laser beam and a method based on X-ray diffraction. There is a transition from compressive to tensile stress at a processing pressure around 2 mTorr. The transition occurs at different pressures for thin films of different thickness. The degree of c-axis orientation was not affected by the target–substrate distance as it was varied in between 30 and 70 mm

Desenlaces clínicos de los pacientes con diabetes e hiperglucemia de estrés que presentaron infección por SARS-CoV-2

Introduction. Diabetes and stress hyperglycemia (SH) have been related with poorer clinical outcomes in patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 and at risk for severe disease.Objective. To evaluate clinical outcomes in three groups of patients (with diabetes, without diabetes and stress hyperglycemia [SH]) with SARS-CoV-2 infection.Materials and methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in Cali-Colombia. Patients aged ≥18 years with a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection managed in the emergency room, hospitalization or intensive care unit (ICU) between March 2020 and December 2021 were included. Immunocompromised patients and pregnant women were excluded. Patients were classified in three groups: without diabetes, with diabetes and SH. A comparison between the groups was performed. Results. A total of 945 patients were included (59.6% without diabetes, 27% with diabetes and 13.4% with SH). Fifty-five-point three percent required ICU management, with a higher need in patients with SH (89.8%) and diabetes (67.1%), with no difference between these groups (p=0.249). A higher chance of death was seen in SH vs. without diabetes (adjOR= 8.12, 95% CI 5.12-12.88, p<0.01). Frequency of acute respiratory distress syndrome, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, use of vasopressors and inotropes, the need for de novo renal replacement therapy and mortality was higher in patients with metabolic alterations (diabetes and SH). Conclusions. Diabetes and SH are associated to worse clinical outcomes and mortality in patients with COVID-19. These patients should be identified early and considered as high risk at moment of COVID-19 diagnosis that allow to mitigate adverse outcomes.Introducción. La diabetes y la hiperglucemia de estrés (HE) se han relacionado con peores desenlaces clínicos en pacientes infectados por SARS-CoV-2 y con riesgo de enfermedad grave. Objetivo. Evaluar los resultados clínicos en tres grupos de pacientes (con diabetes, sin diabetes e hiperglucemia de estrés [SH]) con infección por SARS-CoV-2.Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un estudio de cohorte retrospectivo en Cali-Colombia. Se incluyeron pacientes ≥18 años con diagnóstico de infección por SARS-CoV-2 atendidos en urgencias, hospitalización o unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) entre marzo de 2020 y diciembre de 2021. Se excluyeron pacientes inmunocomprometidos y mujeres embarazadas. Los pacientes fueron clasificados en tres grupos: sin diabetes, con diabetes e HE. Se realizó una comparación entre los grupos.Resultados. Se incluyeron un total de 945 pacientes (59,6% sin diabetes, 27% con diabetes y 13,4% con HE). El 55,3% requirió manejo en UCI, con mayor necesidad en pacientes con HE (89,8%) y diabetes (67,1%), sin diferencia entre estos grupos (p=0,249). Se observó una mayor probabilidad de muerte en HE vs. sin diabetes (adjOR= 8,12, 95% IC 5,12-12,88, p<0,01). La frecuencia de síndrome de distrés respiratorio agudo, necesidad de ventilación mecánica invasiva, uso de vasopresores e inotrópicos, necesidad de terapia de reemplazo renal de novo y la mortalidad fue mayor en pacientes con alteraciones metabólicas (diabetes e HE).Conclusiones. La diabetes y la HE se asociaron a peores resultados clínicos y mortalidad en pacientes con COVID-19. Estos pacientes deben ser identificados tempranamente y considerados de alto riesgo al momento del diagnóstico de COVID-19 que permitan mitigar los desenlaces adversos

Proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes from cystic echinococcosis patients provides in vivo support for distinct immune response profiles in active vs inactive infection and suggests potential biomarkers

The reference diagnostic method of human abdominal Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) is imaging, particularly ultrasound, supported by serology when imaging is inconclusive. However, current diagnostic tools are neither optimal nor widely available. The availability of a test detecting circulating biomarkers would considerably improve CE diagnosis and cyst staging (active vs inactive), as well as treatments and follow-up of patients. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles involved in intercellular communication, including immune system responses, and are a recognized source of biomarkers. With the aim of identifying potential biomarkers, plasma pools from patients infected by active or inactive CE, as well as from control subjects, were processed to isolate exosomes for proteomic label-free quantitative analysis. Results were statistically processed and subjected to bioinformatics analysis to define distinct features associated with parasite viability. First, a few parasite proteins were identified that were specifically associated with either active or inactive CE, which represent potential biomarkers to be validated in further studies. Second, numerous identified proteins of human origin were common to active and inactive CE, confirming an overlap of several immune response pathways. However, a subset of human proteins specific to either active or inactive CE, and central in the respective protein-protein interaction networks, were identified. These include the Src family kinases Src and Lyn, and the immune-suppressive cytokine TGF-β in active CE, and Cdc42 in inactive CE. The Src and Lyn Kinases were confirmed as potential markers of active CE in totally independent plasma pools. In addition, insights were obtained on immune response profiles: largely consistent with previous evidence, our observations hint to a Th1/Th2/regulatory immune environment in patients with active CE and a Th1/inflammatory environment with a component of the wound healing response in the presence of inactive CE. Of note, our results were obtained for the first time from the analysis of samples obtained in vivo from a well-characterized, large cohort of human subjects