Socioeconomic status, urbanicity and risk behaviors in Mexican youth: an analysis of three cross-sectional surveys

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The relationship between urbanicity and adolescent health is a critical issue for which little empirical evidence has been reported. Although an association has been suggested, a dichotomous rural versus urban comparison may not succeed in identifying differences between adolescent contexts. This study aims to assess the influence of locality size on risk behaviors in a national sample of young Mexicans living in low-income households, while considering the moderating effect of socioeconomic status (SES).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a secondary analysis of three national surveys of low-income households in Mexico in different settings: rural, semi-urban and urban areas. We analyzed risk behaviors in 15-21-year-olds and their potential relation to urbanicity. The risk behaviors explored were: tobacco and alcohol consumption, sexual initiation and condom use. The adolescents' localities of residence were classified according to the number of inhabitants in each locality. We used a logistical model to identify an association between locality size and risk behaviors, including an interaction term with SES.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The final sample included 17,974 adolescents from 704 localities in Mexico. Locality size was associated with tobacco and alcohol consumption, showing a similar effect throughout all SES levels: the larger the size of the locality, the lower the risk of consuming tobacco or alcohol compared with rural settings. The effect of locality size on sexual behavior was more complex. The odds of adolescent condom use were higher in larger localities only among adolescents in the lowest SES levels. We found no statically significant association between locality size and sexual initiation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggest that in this sample of adolescents from low-income areas in Mexico, risk behaviors are related to locality size (number of inhabitants). Furthermore, for condom use, this relation is moderated by SES. Such heterogeneity suggests the need for more detailed analyses of both the effects of urbanicity on behavior, and the responses--which are also heterogeneous--required to address this situation.</p

Epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection and sepsis in critically ill patients: “AbSeS”, a multinational observational cohort study and ESICM Trials Group Project

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection in an international cohort of ICU patients according to a new system that classifies cases according to setting of infection acquisition (community-acquired, early onset hospital-acquired, and late-onset hospital-acquired), anatomical disruption (absent or present with localized or diffuse peritonitis), and severity of disease expression (infection, sepsis, and septic shock). Methods: We performed a multicenter (n = 309), observational, epidemiological study including adult ICU patients diagnosed with intra-abdominal infection. Risk factors for mortality were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results: The cohort included 2621 patients. Setting of infection acquisition was community-acquired in 31.6%, early onset hospital-acquired in 25%, and late-onset hospital-acquired in 43.4% of patients. Overall prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was 26.3% and difficult-to-treat resistant Gram-negative bacteria 4.3%, with great variation according to geographic region. No difference in prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was observed according to setting of infection acquisition. Overall mortality was 29.1%. Independent risk factors for mortality included late-onset hospital-acquired infection, diffuse peritonitis, sepsis, septic shock, older age, malnutrition, liver failure, congestive heart failure, antimicrobial resistance (either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria, or carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria) and source control failure evidenced by either the need for surgical revision or persistent inflammation. Conclusion: This multinational, heterogeneous cohort of ICU patients with intra-abdominal infection revealed that setting of infection acquisition, anatomical disruption, and severity of disease expression are disease-specific phenotypic characteristics associated with outcome, irrespective of the type of infection. Antimicrobial resistance is equally common in community-acquired as in hospital-acquired infection

Rapport du Syndicat des Arts Graphiques de Barcelone

Martinez A., Suarez G., Castillo B., Santillan D. A. de. Rapport du Syndicat des Arts Graphiques de Barcelone. In: Autogestion et socialisme : études, débats, documents, N°18-19, 1972. Les anarchistes et l’autogestion. pp. 103-111

An Integrated Implementation Methodology of a Lifecycle-wide Tracking Simulation Architecture

A tracking simulator is a decision support application in which dynamic estimation is used to continuously align the results of an online first principle simulation model with the measurements of the targeted plant. They are a holistic application where current and future plant information is available for operation support of process plants. Existing tracking simulators have focused on the application of online and offline methods for estimation of their underlying first principle models (FPMs). However, these systems have been less attractive than similar alternatives based on empirical modelling, due to the lack of systematic approaches that address challenges across the tracking simulation lifecycle, such as laborious development of FPMs as well as high integration costs with the process or with other systems and simulation methods. In contrast, the approach presented in this work integrates a tracking simulation architecture and various simulation methods to address the described challenges as follows. In order to tackle time-consuming development of FPMs, a method for generating tracking simulation models from models created during design phase is proposed. The process of connecting the tracking simulator to the physical plant and initializing the tracking simulator is automated. An optimization method for tracking simulation applications is developed to overcome drawbacks of available methods. The simulation architecture developed applies the proposed methodology during the various phases of tracking simulation. Furthermore, it exploits industrial communication standards to avoid the need for point-to-point integration of various simulators and other systems used over the course of the tracking simulator lifecycle. The work is demonstrated with laboratory process equipment.Peer reviewe

An alternative gas sensor material: Synthesis and electrical characterization of SmCoO3

Single-phase perovskite SmCoO3 was prepared by a wet-chemical synthesis technique using metal-nitrates and citric acid; after its characterization by thermal analyses and X-ray diffraction, sintering at 900 °C in air, gave single phase and well crystallized powders. The powders were mixed with an organic solvent to prepare a slurry, which was deposited on alumina substrates as thick films, using the screen-printing technique. Electrical and gas sensing properties of sintered SmCoO3 films were investigated in air, O2 and CO2, the results show that sensitivity reached a maximum value at 420 °C, for both gases. Dynamic tests revealed a better behavior of SmCoO3 in CO2 than O2, due to a fast response and a larger electrical resistance change to this gas. X-ray diffraction made on powders after electrical characterization in gases, showed that perovskite-type structure was preserved. Zapotitlán 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved