Los estereotipos y los roles de género en los medios de comunicación y la importancia de las políticas de comunicación en materia de igualdad de género

Analizando los estereotipos y los roles de género en los medios de difusión, desde distintos puntos de vista, queda patente la imagen distorsionada que se ofrece de la mujer en ellos. Con este análisis se intenta determinar la importancia de las políticas de comunicación en materia de igualdad de género.Grado en Publicidad y Relaciones Pública

Leptin and Hypertension in Obesity

Leptin, a peptide discovered more than 10 years ago, decreases food intake and increases sympathetic nerve activity to both thermogenic and nonthermogenic tissue. Leptin was initially believed to be an anti-obesity hormone, owing to its metabolic effects. However, obese individuals, for unknown reasons, become resistant to the satiety and weight-reducing effect of the hormone, but preserve leptin-mediated sympathetic activation to nonthermogenic tissue such as kidney, heart, and adrenal glands. Leptin has been shown to influence nitric oxide production and natriuresis, and along with chronic sympathetic activation, especially to the kidney, it may lead to sodium retention, systemic vasoconstriction, and blood pressure elevation. Consequently, leptin is currently considered to play an important role in the development of hypertension in obesity

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in liver transplant patients

The optimal treatment strategy for patients with symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) and end-stage liver disease (ESLD) is not well defined. Although medical management is the accepted first line treatment, patients who are unresponsive to medication require further interventions. Since ESLD patients have a high operative risk for surgical myomectomy, alcohol septal ablation (ASA) emerges as a good alternative in these cases. The timing of ASA in relation to liver transplantation is still unclear. We report here on the first case of an orthotopic liver transplant-recipient undergoing ASA and the second of a cirrhotic patient requiring ASA as a bridge to liver transplantation. Both patients had a good clinical outcome and we argue that ASA in HOCM patients should be driven by symptom onset, and that in the asymptomatic patient it can be safely deferred until after liver transplantation. (Cardiol J 2008; 15: 74-79

Stable extent of recurrently active cardiac and cutaneous sarcoidosis

Background: Recurrent or persistently active sarcoidosis is a risk factor for permanent organ damage. Whether this damage is due to accumulated focal injuries or progressive disease extent is not known, as the natural history of chronic inflammation in sarcoidosis is poorly characterized. The objective of this study is to determine the pattern of disease in recurrently active sarcoidosis. Methods: We identified patients with recurrent cardiac sarcoidosis (N = 21) retrospectively from an imaging database, and with recurrent cutaneous sarcoidosis (N = 17) from a prospective registry. The longitudinal patterns of cardiac sarcoidosis were established by findings on cardiac positron emission tomography scans, and of cutaneous sarcoidosis by the validated Cutaneous Sarcoidosis Activity and Morphology Instrument clinical scoring system. Patterns of recurrent disease were compared to baseline findings. Results: Recurrent sarcoidosis occurred in a nearly identical pattern and distribution as baseline disease, and spread of disease was rarely observed for both cardiac and cutaneous sarcoidosis: 97% of heart segments positive on recurrence scans were positive on baseline scans, and only one new region of facial disease was observed. In some cases, recurrence followed years of apparent remission. Discussion: Across phenotypes, and across a long period of follow-up, the extent of sarcoidosis was stable in spite of fluctuations in disease activity. For patients with a demonstrated history of recurrent disease affecting critical organs, our findings support the need for long-term follow-up

Identification of coronary heart disease in asymptomatic individuals with diabetes mellitus: to screen or not to screen

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is highly prevalent in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), and remains the single most common cause of death among this population. Regrettably, a significant percentage of diabetics fail to perceive the classic symptoms associated with myocardial ischemia. Among asymptomatic diabetics, the prevalence of abnormal cardiac testing appears to be high, ranging between 10% and 62%, and mortality is significantly higher in those with abnormal scans. Hence, the potential use of screening for CHD detection among asymptomatic DM individuals is appealing and has been recommended in certain circumstances. However, it was not until recently, that this question was addressed in clinical trials. Two studies randomized a total of 2,023 asymptomatic diabetics to screening or not using cardiac imaging with a mean follow up of 4.4 ± 1.4 years. In combination, both trials showed lower than expected annual event rates, and failed to reduce major cardiovascular events in the screened group compared to the standard of care alone. The results of these trials do not currently support the use of screening tools for CHD detection in asymptomatic DM individuals. However, these studies have important limitations, and potential explanations for their negative results that are discussed in this manuscript

Persistent FDG Uptake at Apical Aneurysm in a Patient With Cardiac Sarcoidosis

We present a case of cardiac sarcoidosis with persistent, focal fluorodeoxyglucose uptake at the left ventricular apical aneurysm concerning for ongoing active inflammatory injury, prompting aggressive immunosuppressive therapy. This case highlights the importance of understanding the various clinical entities that may resemble disease activity on fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.

Effects of ranolazine on right ventricular function, fluid dynamics, and metabolism in patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension: insights from a longitudinal, randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled, multicenter study

IntroductionRight ventricular (RV) function is a major determinant of outcome in patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH). We studied the effect of ranolazine on RV function over 6 months using multi-modality imaging and biochemical markers in patients with precapillary PH (groups I, III, and IV) and RV dysfunction [CMR imaging ejection fraction (EF) < 45%] in a longitudinal, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicenter study of ranolazine treatment.MethodsEnrolled patients were assessed using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, 11C-acetate and 18-F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET), and plasma metabolomic profiling, at baseline and at the end of treatment.ResultsTwenty-two patients were enrolled, and 15 patients completed all follow-up studies with 9 in the ranolazine arm and 6 in the placebo arm. RVEF and RV/Left ventricle (LV) mean glucose uptake were significantly improved after 6 months of treatment in the ranolazine arm. Metabolomic changes in aromatic amino acid metabolism, redox homeostasis, and bile acid metabolism were observed after ranolazine treatment, and several changes significantly correlated with changes in PET and CMR-derived fluid dynamic measurements.DiscussionRanolazine may improve RV function by altering RV metabolism in patients with precapillary PH. Larger studies are needed to confirm the beneficial effects of ranolazine

Incidencia del aprendizaje significativo con el uso de B-Learning.

La presente investigación expone los resultados del uso de recursos educacionales b-learning”, como apoyo al aprendizaje presencial (significativo) de la asignatura de Control Industrial. Se analizaron las características que presentan las plataformas de gestión de aprendizaje, especificamente Moodle, en donde se desarrolló el entorno de aprendizaje basado en la teoría constructivista y se valoró el desempeño del aula virtual en relación al aspecto visual, navegabilidad, contenidos y diseño instruccional. La metodología empleada en el diseño y elaboración del aula virtual fue PACIE (Presencia, Alcance, Capacitación, Interacción, E-learning); en la organización de las tareas, se tomó en cuenta la destreza y soltura en el manejo de elementos que la actual tecnología ofrece. Con esta investigación se consiguió desarrollar una herramienta de apoyo complementaria a las clases presenciales y prácticas de laboratorio, que mejoró el nivel del uso de internet educativo y el interés por las tecnologías de la información y comunicación TIC, facilitó un acompañamiento permanente al estudiante, permitiendo que sean ellos quienes generen las ideas, aprendizajes significativos y destrezas con una visión amplia del mundo que los rodea, siendo capaces de analizar, comprender y actuar en el área de control industrial

Hot spot imaging in cardiovascular diseases:an information statement from SNMMI, ASNC, and EANM

This information statement from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, and European Association of Nuclear Medicine describes the performance, interpretation, and reporting of hot spot imaging in nuclear cardiology. The field of nuclear cardiology has historically focused on cold spot imaging for the interpretation of myocardial ischemia and infarction. Hot spot imaging has been an important part of nuclear medicine, particularly for oncology or infection indications, and the use of hot spot imaging in nuclear cardiology continues to expand. This document focuses on image acquisition and processing, methods of quantification, indications, protocols, and reporting of hot spot imaging. Indications discussed include myocardial viability, myocardial inflammation, device or valve infection, large vessel vasculitis, valve calcification and vulnerable plaques, and cardiac amyloidosis. This document contextualizes the foundations of image quantification and highlights reporting in each indication for the cardiac nuclear imager.</p

Multi-center study of inter-rater reproducibility, image quality, and diagnostic accuracy of CZT versus conventional SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging

Cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT)-based detectors exhibit higher diagnostic sensitivity in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) than conventional Anger-MPI for detection of coronary artery disease (CAD); however, reduced specificity and diagnostic accuracy of CZT-MPI were observed. This study aims to compare these different camera systems and to examine the degree of inter-rater reproducibility among readers with varying experience in MPI. 83 patients who underwent double stress/rest examinations using both a CZT and conventional SPECT cameras within one visit were included. Anonymized and randomized MPI-images were distributed to 15 international readers using a standardized questionnaire. Subsequent coronary angiography findings of ten patients served as a reference for analysis of sensitivity and specificity. Image quality was significantly better in CZT-MPI with significantly lower breast attenuation (P < 0.05). CZT-MPI exhibited higher sensitivity than Anger-MPI (87.5% vs. 62.5%) and significantly reduced specificity (40% vs. 100%). Readers experienced with both camera systems had the highest inter-rater agreement indicating higher reproducibility (CZT 0.54 vs. conv. 0.49, P < 0.05). Higher diagnostic sensitivity of CZT-MPI offers advantages in detection of CAD yet potentially of at the cost of reduced specificity, therefore it requires special training and a differentiated evaluation approach, especially for non-experienced readers with such camera systems. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12350-022-03054-w