Efecto de la capacidad visoespacial en el rendimiento académico de estudiantes de anatomía médica

Visuospatial ability is associated with clinical skills in medical education, as it predicts the academic performance of anatomy students. Objective: To determine whether visuospatial processing generates changes in the teaching of medical anatomy and predicts academic performance in that subject. Methods: 140 students were evaluated at the beginning of the semester and before final exams with the Rey Complex Figure Test (CRFT).  Student's t-tests were performed to contrast pre- and post-test differences, Cohen's d to measure effect size, and linear regression to evaluate prediction with final grades. Results: Mean age 20.22 years (SD=1.12), mean grade point average 4.96 (SD=1.20). Seventy percent of the students passed the course. The t-test reports significant differences of TFCR (Memory recall: t=-17.383; p<0.001; Delayed recall: t=-16.547, p<0.001) with a medium effect size (d=0.59 and d=0.56), respectively. The scores obtained in the post-test on the TFCR deferred recall task explained up to 90% of the students' academic performance. Conclusions: The instrument's deferred memory predicted academic performance and anatomy learning improved students' visuospatial function performance.La capacidad visoespacial se asocia con habilidades clínicas en la educación médica, ya que predice el desempeño académico de los estudiantes de anatomía. Objetivo: Determinar si el procesamiento visoespacial genera cambios en la enseñanza de la anatomía médica y predice el desempeño académico en esa asignatura. Método: 140 estudiantes evaluados al inicio de semestre y antes de exámenes finales con el Test de la Figura Compleja de Rey.  Se realizaron análisis t de Student para contrastar las diferencias pre y pos-test, d de Cohen para medir el tamaño de efecto y regresión lineal para evaluar la predicción con las notas finales. Resultados: Edad promedio 20.22 años (DE=1.12), media de calificaciones 4.96 (DE=1.20). El 70% de los estudiantes aprobó la asignatura. La prueba t reporta diferencias significativas del TFCR (Evocación de Memoria: t=-17.383; p<0.001; Evocación diferida: t=-16.547, p<0.001) con un tamaño del efecto mediano (d=0.59 y d=0.56), respectivamente. Las puntuaciones obtenidas en el post-test en la tarea de memoria diferida del TFCR, explicaron hasta en un 90% el desempeño académico de los estudiantes. Conclusiones: La memoria diferida del instrumento predijo el rendimiento académico y el aprendizaje de anatomía mejoró el desempeño en la función visoespacial de los estudiantes

Impact of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients: A nationwide study in Spain

Objective To assess the effect of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients in Spain. Settings The initial flood of COVID-19 patients overwhelmed an unprepared healthcare system. Different measures were taken to deal with this overburden. The effect of these measures on neurosurgical patients, as well as the effect of COVID-19 itself, has not been thoroughly studied. Participants This was a multicentre, nationwide, observational retrospective study of patients who underwent any neurosurgical operation from March to July 2020. Interventions An exploratory factorial analysis was performed to select the most relevant variables of the sample. Primary and secondary outcome measures Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of mortality and postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Sixteen hospitals registered 1677 operated patients. The overall mortality was 6.4%, and 2.9% (44 patients) suffered a perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those infections, 24 were diagnosed postoperatively. Age (OR 1.05), perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 4.7), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.006), postoperative neurological worsening (OR 5.9), postoperative need for airway support (OR 5.38), ASA grade =3 (OR 2.5) and preoperative GCS 3-8 (OR 2.82) were independently associated with mortality. For SARS-CoV-2 postoperative infection, screening swab test <72 hours preoperatively (OR 0.76), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.011), preoperative cognitive impairment (OR 2.784), postoperative sepsis (OR 3.807) and an absence of postoperative complications (OR 0.188) were independently associated. Conclusions Perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurosurgical patients was associated with an increase in mortality by almost fivefold. Community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) was a statistically independent predictor of mortality. Trial registration number CEIM 20/217

2 nd Brazilian Consensus on Chagas Disease, 2015

Abstract Chagas disease is a neglected chronic condition with a high burden of morbidity and mortality. It has considerable psychological, social, and economic impacts. The disease represents a significant public health issue in Brazil, with different regional patterns. This document presents the evidence that resulted in the Brazilian Consensus on Chagas Disease. The objective was to review and standardize strategies for diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of Chagas disease in the country, based on the available scientific evidence. The consensus is based on the articulation and strategic contribution of renowned Brazilian experts with knowledge and experience on various aspects of the disease. It is the result of a close collaboration between the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine and the Ministry of Health. It is hoped that this document will strengthen the development of integrated actions against Chagas disease in the country, focusing on epidemiology, management, comprehensive care (including families and communities), communication, information, education, and research

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Sharing and community curation of mass spectrometry data with Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking

The potential of the diverse chemistries present in natural products (NP) for biotechnology and medicine remains untapped because NP databases are not searchable with raw data and the NP community has no way to share data other than in published papers. Although mass spectrometry techniques are well-suited to high-throughput characterization of natural products, there is a pressing need for an infrastructure to enable sharing and curation of data. We present Global Natural Products Social molecular networking (GNPS, http://gnps.ucsd.edu), an open-access knowledge base for community wide organization and sharing of raw, processed or identified tandem mass (MS/MS) spectrometry data. In GNPS crowdsourced curation of freely available community-wide reference MS libraries will underpin improved annotations. Data-driven social-networking should facilitate identification of spectra and foster collaborations. We also introduce the concept of ‘living data’ through continuous reanalysis of deposited data

Psychometric Properties and Correlates of Precarious Manhood Beliefs in 62 Nations

Precarious manhood beliefs portray manhood, relative to womanhood, as a social status that is hard to earn, easy to lose, and proven via public action. Here, we present cross-cultural data on a brief measure of precarious manhood beliefs (the Precarious Manhood Beliefs scale [PMB]) that covaries meaningfully with other cross-culturally validated gender ideologies and with country-level indices of gender equality and human development. Using data from university samples in 62 countries across 13 world regions (N = 33,417), we demonstrate: (1) the psychometric isomorphism of the PMB (i.e., its comparability in meaning and statistical properties across the individual and country levels); (2) the PMB’s distinctness from, and associations with, ambivalent sexism and ambivalence toward men; and (3) associations of the PMB with nation-level gender equality and human development. Findings are discussed in terms of their statistical and theoretical implications for understanding widely-held beliefs about the precariousness of the male gender role