Hospital volume and outcomes for acute pulmonary embolism: Multinational population based cohort study

[Objectives] To evaluate the association between experience in the management of acute pulmonary embolism, reflected by hospital case volume, and mortality.[Design] Multinational population based cohort study using data from the Registro Informatizado de la Enfermedad TromboEmbólica (RIETE) registry between 1 January 2001 and 31 August 2018.[Setting] 353 hospitals in 16 countries.[Participants] 39 257 consecutive patients with confirmed diagnosis of acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism.[Main] outcome measure Pulmonary embolism related mortality within 30 days after diagnosis of the condition.[Results] Patients with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism admitted to high volume hospitals (>40 pulmonary embolisms per year) had a higher burden of comorbidities. A significant inverse association was seen between annual hospital volume and pulmonary embolism related mortality. Admission to hospitals in the highest quarter (that is, >40 pulmonary embolisms per year) was associated with a 44% reduction in the adjusted odds of pulmonary embolism related mortality at 30 days compared with admission to hospitals in the lowest quarter (<15 pulmonary embolisms per year; adjusted risk 1.3% v 2.3%; adjusted odds ratio 0.56 (95% confidence interval 0.33 to 0.95); P=0.03). Results were consistent in all sensitivity analyses. All cause mortality at 30 days was not significantly reduced between the two quarters (adjusted odds ratio 0.78 (0.50 to 1.22); P=0.28). Survivors showed little change in the odds of recurrent venous thromboembolism (odds ratio 0.76 (0.49 to 1.19)) or major bleeding (1.07 (0.77 to 1.47)) between the low and high volume hospitals.[Conclusions] In patients with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism, admission to high volume hospitals was associated with significant reductions in adjusted pulmonary embolism related mortality at 30 days. These findings could have implications for management strategies.Peer reviewe

Organoids Models for the Study of Cell-Cell Interactions

Organoids have arisen as promising model systems in biomedical research and regenerative medicine due to their potential to reproduce the original tissue architecture and function. In the research field of cell–cell interactions, organoids mimic interactions taking place during organogenesis, including the processes that conduct to multi-lineage differentiation and morphogenetic processes, during immunology response and disease development and expansion. This chapter will address the basis of organoids origin, their importance on immune system cell–cell interactions and the benefits of using them in biomedicine, specifically their potential applications in regenerative medicine and personalized therapy. Organoids might represent a personalized tool for patients to receive earlier diagnoses, risk assessments, and more efficient treatments

Obtención de las características seccionales de secciones metálicas de pared delgada abiertas

[EN] Thin-walled cold-formed steel sections are widely used in structural design. These sections, however, exhibit inestabilities that are caused by compression stresses when a structural member bends. For this reason, is necessary to know the effective values of the geometrical parameters of these sections, such as area section and moments of inertia. In addition, it is not recommended to choose open-shaped sections to sustain torsional loads, mostly if they are thin-walled sections. When designing a structure with thin-walled, open-shaped sections, it is necessary to use geometrical parameters such as torsional modulus, warping modulus, etc. In this job, an application designed in MatlabQc is presented in order to obtain such geometrical parameters. The geometry is discretised, and the algorithms are described. This application, implemented in a graphical way, is aimed to the students of subjects related to mechanical or industrial engineering.[ES] En construcción se utilizan frecuentemente las secciones de pared delgada conformadas en frio a partir de bobinas de chapa que se pliegan por procedimientos mecánicos. Dada la propensión de este tipo de secciones a fenómenos de inestabilidad frente a las tensiones de compresión originadas durante la flexión, es necesario conocer los valores eficaces de las características geométricas de estas secciones. Adicional- mente, como regla general, no es adecuada la elección de perfiles de sección abierta para soportar esfuerzos de torsión importantes, y mucho menos si se trata de secciones de pared delgada. Así, cuando en los cálculos de una estructura se consideran secciones abiertas de pared delgada en las que participe, además de la flexión, la torsión de los elementos, es necesario disponer de parámetros geométricos de las secciones como el módulo de torsión, el módulo de alabeo y la posición del centro de esfuerzos cortantes, entre otros. Se ha desarrollado una aplicación en MatlabQc , dirigida a los alumnos del grado en Ingeniería Mecánica y el grado en Ingeniería en Tecnologías Industriales, que permite la obtención de estos parámetros partiendo de la discretización de la geometría de la sección mediante tramos rectos y radios de acuerdo circulares. Se describen los algoritmos de cálculo utilizados para ello y las herramientas graficas desarrolladas.Jimenez Mocholi, AJ.; Giménez-Palomares, F.; Lapuebla-Ferri, A. (2011). Obtención de las características seccionales de secciones metálicas de pared delgada abiertas. Modelling in Science Education and Learning. 4:251-261. https://doi.org/10.4995/msel.2011.3084SWORD2512614Marco García, J., Fundamentos para el Cálculo y Dise-o de Estructuras Metálicas de Acero Laminado. Editorial McGraw-Hill. 1998.Norma Básica de la Edificación NBE EA-95. Estructuras de Acero en Edificación. Ministerio de Obras Públicas, Transportes y Medio Ambiente. 1995. Depcik, C.; Assanis, D.N, Graphical user interfaces in an engineering educational environment- Comput. Appl. Eng. Educ. Vol. 13, 2005

Understanding secondary and high school maths from university subjects: A transversal teaching proposal based on elasticity and strength of materials

[ES] En este trabajo proponemos una metodología didáctica para facilitar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de las asignaturas de matemáticas en las etapas de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y de Bachillerato. Se trata de una experiencia basada en la docencia transversal, en tanto que requiere de la colaboración entre profesores de distintos niveles educativos. Se pretende que los estudiantes preuniversitarios contextualicen ciertas herramientas y métodos matemáticos en el ámbito de la asignatura universitaria “Elasticidad y Resistencia de Materiales”. El objetivo fundamental que perseguimos con la futura implementación de esta experiencia es que los alumnos preuniversitarios comprendan la utilidad de las matemáticas a partir de aplicaciones prácticas reales de la ingeniería. Los autores creemos que esta experiencia repercutirá positivamente en su motivación y, por ende, en su rendimiento académico.[EN] In this work, we propose a didactic methodology to facilitate the teaching-learning process of the mathematics subjects in the stages of Compulsory Secondary Education and High School Education. It consists of a collaboration experience between teachers of different levels of education. It is intended that the pre-university students contextualize certain mathematical methods and tools in the field of the university subject .Elasticity and Resistance of Materials”. The fundamental objective we follow with the future implementation of this experience is that pre-university students understand the usefulness of mathematics from real practical applications of engineering. The authors believe that this experience will have a positive impact on their motivation and, therefore, on their academic performance.Lapuebla Ferri, A.; Gimenez Palomares, F.; Jimenez Mocholi, AJ. (2019). Comprender las matemáticas de secundaria y bachillerato desde las asignaturas universitarias: Una propuesta de docencia transversal basada en elasticidad y resistencia de materiales. Modelling in Science Education and Learning. 12(2):125-134. https://doi.org/10.4995/msel.2019.11800OJS125134122Gere, J. M. (2002). Resistencia de materiales. Madrid etc.: Thomson.Popov, E. P. (1994). Introducción a la mecánica de sólidos. México etc.: Limusa.Jiménez-Mocholí, A.-J., Giménez-Palomares F., Arroyo-Jordá P. (2002). Una aplicación de la diagonalización de matrices a la ingeniería: matriz de tensiones. III Jornades d'Innovació Docent: l'ensenyament de les Matemàtiques i el Projecte EUROPA (25-27/09/2002), 2002, pp. 157-168.Jiménez-Mocholí, A.-J., Arroyo-Jordá, P., Arroyo-Jordá, M., Giménez-Palomares, F., Lapuebla-Ferri, A., Corral-Ortega, C. (2008). El cuestionario como herramienta de evaluación de la docencia transversal. V Congreso Iberoamericano de Docencia Universitaria, pp. 1-7.Giménez, F., Monsoriu, J. A., Lapuebla-Ferri, A., Jiménez, A. J. (2011). Un laboratorio virtual para la enseñanza de momentos de inercia de figuras planas. Modelling in Science Education and Learning 4(18). https://doi.org/10.4995/msel.2011.3082Giménez-Mocholí, A.-J., Lapuebla-Ferri, A., Giménez-Palomares, F. (2014). Utilización de laboratorios virtuales para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la elasticidad. Modelling in Science Education and Learning 7(20). https://doi.org/10.4995/msel.2014.2089Giménez-Palomares, F., Jiménez-Mocholí, A.-J., Lapuebla-Ferri, A., Monsoriu-Serra, J.-A. (2017). Representación de distribuciones tensionales en elementos lineales prismáticos y cilíndricos. Modelling in Science Education and Learning 10(2). https://doi.org/10.4995/msel.2017.5968Lapuebla-Ferri, A., Jiménez-Mocholí, A.-J., Giménez-Palomares, F., Monsoriu-Serra, J.-A (2018). Uso de laboratorios virtuales en la enseñanza de asignaturas de grados de la rama industrial: antecedentes, estado actual y reflexiones. Técnica Ind., no. 319, pp. 40-47.Lapuebla-Ferri, A., Giménez-Palomares, F., Jiménez-Mocholí, A.-J., Monsoriu-Serra, J.-A. (2017). Aprendizaje interactivo de los dominios de deformación de elementos de hormigón armado. XXV Congreso Universitario de Innovación Educativa en las Enseñanzas Técnicas (CUIEET 2017), pp. 353-362.Lapuebla-Ferri, A. Giménez-Palomares, F., Jiménez-Mocholí, A.-J, Espinós-Capilla, A., Monsoriu-Serra, J.-A. (2018). Aplicación interactiva on-line para el aprendizaje del fenómeno del pandeo en elementos metálicos sometidos a compresión simple. XXVI Congreso Universitario de Innovación Educativa en las Enseñanzas Técnicas (CUIEET 2018), p. 78

Discrepancies between different electron temperature methods: probing the electron energy distribution function

A large panel of diagnostic techniques for the determination of effective electron temperatures Te exists and they rely on different hypothesis/physical phenomena for its measurement. Due to the different underlying assumptions and physical mechanisms used for the calculation of Te, different values of Te may be expected while measuring a plasma in the same conditions, particularly in the case of a non-Maxwellian plasma. To each of these definitions of effective Te, a different effective Te can be defined using the EEDF of the plasma. In this study, we take a low pressure Argon microwave plasma as test case and compare Thomson scattering with line intensity measurements corrected by a collisional radiative model. The results are compared with those obtained from the electron particle balance (ePB)

Menetrier's disease

A clinical case of a 57-year-old female patient with history of epilepsy diagnosed in childhood, currently being treated with magnesium valproate, she presented with oral intolerance, ascites and weight loss. The initial laboratory workup was significant for hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin 18 g/L), but her liver and renal function were normal and urinalysis was negative. Panendoscopy was performed with a microscopic report: histopathology reporting findings related to hypertrophic gastropathy, gastric foveolar hyperplasia, with chronic diffuse moderate edematous gastritis without data of acute activity, with Helicobacter pylori bacilli in small quantity (+), negative for metaplasia, dysplasia and/or malignancy compatible with Menetrier disease. The patient was evaluated by the general surgery service to perform a jejunostomy and/or total gastrectomy as an adjuvant treatment for the patient. The extent of the gastrectomy to be performed is the subject of debate. The patient refused surgical treatment, so she was voluntarily discharged to an outpatient clinic to begin monoclonal treatment. The patient died 3 weeks before starting monoclonal treatment. Therefore, untreated patients have a high mortality rate due to complications.

Aprendiendo geometría de curvas planas con MATLAB

[EN] The study of geometric properties of plane curves has a great interest in several technical fields. It has many applications in Civil and Industrial Engineering, Architecture, Physics, etc. Displaying such properties for any type of curve allows technicians - and especially students of several technical degrees - to consolidate their knowledge on the subject. In this work we develop a Matlab-based graphical application that allows the visualization of geometric properties of plane curves in an interactive ways. It also permit the encouragement and independent learning of students.[ES] El estudio de las propiedades geométricas de las curvas planas es de gran interés en muchos campos de las ingenierías de caminos, industrial, arquitectura, de la física, etc. y presentan múltiples e importantes aplicaciones. La visualización de dichas propiedades para cualquier tipo de curva permite que los alumnos puedan afianzar sus conocimientos sobre el tema. En este trabajo desarrollamos una aplicación de Matlab que permite dicha visualización de manera interactiva y que fomenta el aprendizaje autónomo de los alumnos.Los autores agradecen al Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación de la Universitat Politècnica de València por su ayuda al Equipo de Innovación y Calidad Educativa MOMA.Monsoriu Serra, JA.; Gimenez Palomares, F.; Jimenez Mocholi, AJ.; Lapuebla Ferri, A. (2015). Aprendiendo geometría de curvas planas con MATLAB. En In-Red 2015 - CONGRESO NACIONAL DE INNOVACIÓN EDUCATIVA Y DE DOCENCIA EN RED. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2015.2015.1592OC

Uso de laboratorios virtuales en la enseñanza de asignaturas de grados de la rama industrial: antecedentes, estado actual y reflexiones

[ES] El Espacio Europeo de la Educación Superior es el marco actual de la educación universitaria. Uno de sus postulados más conocidos es la voluntad de impulsar una serie de metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje que tengan como eje central la figura del alumno, de modo que este adquiera los conocimientos de manera (prácticamente) autónoma. Los laboratorios virtuales son herramientas informáticas que pueden contribuir a este fin. En este artículo, los autores reflexionan acerca del uso de laboratorios virtuales en el proceso de enseñanza- aprendizaje de la asignatura Elasticidad y Resistencia de Materiales, que se imparte en muchos títulos de grado en ingeniería y arquitectura. A partir de su dilatada experiencia, analizan los pros y los contras del uso de dichas herramientas y proponen una serie de acciones futuras de mejora.[EN] The European Higher Education Area is the current framework for university education. One of its most well-known postulates is the desire to promote a series of teaching-learning methodologies that has as its central axis the figure of the student, so that this one acquires knowledge in an autonomous (or almost) way. Virtual laboratories are computer tools that can contribute to this end. In this article, the authors reflect on the use of virtual laboratories in the teaching-learning process of the subject Elasticity and Resistance of Materials, which is taught in many bachelor engineering or architecture degrees. From his extensive experience, they analyse the pros and cons of the use of these tools, proposing several future actions of improvement.Lapuebla-Ferri, A.; Jimenez Mocholi, AJ.; Gimenez Palomares, F.; Monsoriu Serra, JA. (2018). Uso de laboratorios virtuales en la enseñanza de asignaturas de grados de la rama industrial: antecedentes, estado actual y reflexiones. Tecnica Industrial. (319):40-47. doi:10.23800/10024S404731

Enabling Intelligent Omni-Surfaces in the Polarization Domain: Principles, Implementation and Applications

Research in wireless communications based on reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) has surged in the communication-theoretic arena. Recently, the RIS concept has moved into the area of so-called simultaneously transmitting and reflecting intelligent omni-surfaces (STAR-IOS, or simply IOS), which extend the RIS functionality by incorporating transmission (in addition to reflection) capabilities. Development of STAR-IOS’ full and independent reconfiguration capabilities for both reflected and transmitted waves is crucial. However, such full independent reconfiguration has thus far been hampered by the intimate coupling between the transmission and reflection behavior of IOS elements. To overcome this challenge and realize the full potential of reconfigurable IOS-aided systems, in this article we advocate for the use of the polarization domain in the design and operation of STAR-IOS. Thanks to the polarization-dependent features of IOS elements, fully independent (reconfigurable) transmission and reflection modes can be delivered, thus bringing key performance improvements in, and opportunities for, new communication scenarios.This work was funded in part by Junta de Andalucía through grant EMERGIA20-00297; in part by the State Research Agency of Spain (AEI) and the European Social Fund under grant RYC2020-030536-I; in part by PID2020-112545RB-C54, PID2020-118139RB-I00, PDC2022-133900-I00, TED2021-129938B-I00, TED2021-131699B-I00 and IJC2020-043599-I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA

Role of a clinical prediction score in a chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension rule-out strategy

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