Anemia profile in critical septic patients hospitalized in the ICU

This article is part of the supplement: 31st International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency MedicineThe aim was to describe the anemia profile of medical or surgical patients with severe sepsis or septic shock in the ICU, assessing severity scale, length of stay and mortality. The prevalence of microcytic anemia is more than one-half of our septic patients. There are iron metabolism disorders without significant differences between medical and surgical patients. Transferrin, a protein related to malnutrition, inflammatory response and organ dysfunction, is significantly lower in the most severe patients with higher organ dysfunction scores.Ye

Patient information after hospitalization improves humanistic care in intensive care units

Introduction The purpose of the study was to assess the prognosis value of pro-adrenomedullin (pADM), C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), lactate (LT), albumin (ALB), cholesterol (CHOL), white blood cell (WBC) and severity score in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. Methods A prospective, observational study in adult patients with severe sepsis or septic shock in a polyvalent ICU. Demographics, severity scores (APACHE II and SOFA) and all of the biomarkers were studied within 24+ hours from septic shock onset. Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis was performed using the statistical software packages SPSS v.15 and MedCalc® 9.2.1.0. Conclusion The protein pADM, LT and ALB showed good prognosis accuracy when measured on admission of septic patients to the ICU.Ye

Un nuevo híbrido del género Thymus L. (Lamiaceae).

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Una subespecie nueva en el género Sideritis L. (Lamiaceae)

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First Census of units of chronic wounds in Spain

Introducción: A pesar del interés creciente por las unidades de heridas como modelo organizativo para la prestación de servicios a las personas con heridas crónicas, no tenemos información acerca del número, distribución, funcionamiento y características de estas estructuras en España. Objetivos: Identificar las unidades de atención especializada de heridas crónicas en nuestro país y realizar el primer censo de estas. Metodología: Estudio observacional de tipo descriptivo de corte transversal. Se realizó un sistema de muestreo no probabilístico compuesto por tres escalones de muestreo. Se utilizó un cuestionario específicamente diseñado para ello (CVI-Total para Pertinencia = 0,96 y CVI-Total para Relevancia = 0,94) para la obtención de datos, que incluyó la recogida de información sobre: nombre, localización, año de creación, organismo responsable y ámbito de localización de las unidades. Resultados: Un total de 75 posibles unidades candidatas a estudio fueron detectadas en los tres escalones de muestreo realizados. Se reclutaron 44 unidades para el estudio, si bien dos debieron ser retiradas. Finalmente, se incluyó un total de 42 unidades en el primer censo de unidades de heridas en el territorio español. Conclusiones: El número de unidades de heridas en nuestro país es bajo, y existe gran disparidad con respecto a su distribución geográfica por comunidades. Además, estas estructuras están sujetas a muchos cambios. Esto conlleva la desaparición y aparición de unidades de heridas con relativa rapidez, aunque parece que es un sistema organizativo cada vez más aceptado en España, existiendo un número creciente de estas estructuras organizativas en nuestro país.Introduction: Despite the growing interest in wound care units as an organizational model for the provision of services to people with chronic wounds, we do not have information about the number, distribution, functioning and characteristics of these structures in Spain. Objectives: To identify the units of specialized care of chronic wounds in our country and to carry out the first census of these. Methodology: Observational study of a descriptive cross-sectional type. A non - probabilistic sampling system was made up of three sampling steps. A questionnaire specifically designed for this purpose (CVI-Total for Pertinence = 0.96 and CVI-Total for Relevance = 0.94) was used to obtain dates, which included the collection of information on: Name, Location, Year of creation, Agency responsible and Scope of the units. Results: A total of 75 possible candidate units were detected in the three sampling stages. 44 units were recruited for the study, although 2 units had to be retired. Finally, a total of 42 units were included in the first census of wound units in Spain. Conclusions: The number of wound units in Spain is low, with a great disparity with respect to their geographical distribution by regions. In addition, these structures are subject to many changes. This leads to the disappearance and appearance of wounded units relatively quickly, although it seems to be an increasingly accepted organizational system in Spain, with an increasing number of these organizational structures in our country

Evaluation of draw solutions and commercially available forward osmosis membrane modules for wastewater reclamation at pilot scale

An intensive evaluation of draw solutions (DS) was performed by focusing on the wastewater reuse applications of hybrid forward osmosis (FO) processes. The substances studied were potassium formate, potassium phosphate, magnesium sulphate, sodium chloride, sodium polyacrylate and polyethylene glycol, and their osmotic pressure, conductivity, pH, thermostability, sunlight exposure, toxicity, FO filtration performance and replenishment costs were determined. Additionally, commercially available FO membrane modules were evaluated at pilot scale. The results revealed that the most relevant DS properties for wastewater reuse under the studied conditions were the DS regeneration method, DS replacement price, pH adjustment and toxicity. These properties were shown to be more relevant than filtration flux when a maximum DS osmotic pressure value of 10 bar was used. This was the limit for efficient DS recovery. When the different FO membranes were compared, thin-film composite (TFC) flat-sheet membranes showed the highest flux and the highest salt rejection, and the lowest permeability and salt rejection values were presented by cellulose triacetate (CTA) hollow fibre membranes. Based on the information obtained, a TFC-FO/nanofiltration (NF) demonstration plant will be constructed next to the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in San Pedro del Pinatar, in the region of Murcia (Spain). This represents the world's first FO demonstration plant for municipal wastewater reclamation and its results will allow this technology to be evaluated for wastewater reuse for agricultural purpose

Microprocessor board for vitro ceramic control

This paper presents the industrial application of a microcontroller for a vitroceramic cooker. The vitroceramic surface is clustered into a matrix with of cells, each one containing one heating resistor and one infrared emitter- receiver pair which detects the presence or absence of a receptacle on its cell. With this information, a microcontroller fires only those resistors arranged under the base of a receptacle. This patented vitroceramic cooker presents many advantages over traditional ones; for instance, power consumption is optimized, as only the useful ceramic surface is heated. Furthermore, when the object is removed from the surface, the heating resistors are powered off, so there is no risk for the fires being left on, which is of great interest for blind people. Acoustic signals can also be generated indicating the existence of heated resistors

Relationship between Parenting Styles and Aggressiveness in Adolescents

Abstract Introduction. Physical and verbal aggressive behavior that children and adolescents sho

Long-term evaluation of a forward osmosis-nanofiltration demonstration plant for wastewater reuse in agriculture

Hybrid forward osmosis (FO) processes such as forward osmosis with membrane bioreactors (FO-MBR), electrodialysis (FO-ED), nanofiltration (FO-NF) or reverse osmosis (FO-RO) present promising technologies for wastewater reuse in agriculture as they meet high effluent quality requirements, especially regarding boron and/or salt content. An FO-NF demonstration plant for this application was built and operated treating 3 m3 h−1 of real wastewater with a salinity of 3-5 mS cm−1 and 1.5 mg L−1 of boron in continuous mode for 480 days. Three draw solutions (DS) were evaluated in different periods of experimentation. Sodium polyacrylate led to reversible fouling on the FO and NF membranes and the permeate was not suitable for irrigation. Magnesium sulphate, used as DS in a second phase, generated severe irreversible fouling on NF membranes and therefore it was discarded. Finally, magnesium chloride showed the best performance, with FO-NF membranes presenting a stable permeability and low membrane fouling during long-term operation. The FO-NF permeate showed high quality for irrigation, achieving a conductivity value of 1 mS cm−1, a boron concentration below 0.4 mg L−1 and an average SAR of 1.98 (mequ L−1)0.5. DS replacement costs were reduced by working with high rejection NF membranes. However, energy consumption costs associated with the NF step make the global process more energy intensive than conventional technology.