Effective theories of connections and curvature: abelian case

We introduce a notion of measuring scales for quantum abelian gauge systems. At each measuring scale a finite dimensional affine space stores information about the evaluation of the curvature on a discrete family of surfaces. Affine maps from the spaces assigned to finer scales to those assigned to coarser scales play the role of coarse graining maps. This structure induces a continuum limit space which contains information regarding curvature evaluation on all piecewise linear surfaces with boundary. The evaluation of holonomies along loops is also encoded in the spaces introduced here; thus, our framework is closely related to loop quantization and it allows us to discuss effective theories in a sensible way. We develop basic elements of measure theory on the introduced spaces which are essential for the applicability of the framework to the construction of quantum abelian gauge theories.Comment: 39 page

Resección hepática en niños. Diez años de experiencia

Se revisó la experiencia obtenida en 11 resecciones hepáticas hechas en niños en los últimos 10 años. Se investigaron los datos clínicos y los resultados de los estudios de gabinete y laboratorio. Se describe la técnica quirúrgica empleada y las variedades histológicas encontradas; entre las que el hepatoblastoma fue la frecuente. No hubo ningún deceso relacionado con el acto quirúrgico

Delayed colorectal cancer care during covid-19 pandemic (decor-19). Global perspective from an international survey

Background The widespread nature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been unprecedented. We sought to analyze its global impact with a survey on colorectal cancer (CRC) care during the pandemic. Methods The impact of COVID-19 on preoperative assessment, elective surgery, and postoperative management of CRC patients was explored by a 35-item survey, which was distributed worldwide to members of surgical societies with an interest in CRC care. Respondents were divided into two comparator groups: 1) ‘delay’ group: CRC care affected by the pandemic; 2) ‘no delay’ group: unaltered CRC practice. Results A total of 1,051 respondents from 84 countries completed the survey. No substantial differences in demographics were found between the ‘delay’ (745, 70.9%) and ‘no delay’ (306, 29.1%) groups. Suspension of multidisciplinary team meetings, staff members quarantined or relocated to COVID-19 units, units fully dedicated to COVID-19 care, personal protective equipment not readily available were factors significantly associated to delays in endoscopy, radiology, surgery, histopathology and prolonged chemoradiation therapy-to-surgery intervals. In the ‘delay’ group, 48.9% of respondents reported a change in the initial surgical plan and 26.3% reported a shift from elective to urgent operations. Recovery of CRC care was associated with the status of the outbreak. Practicing in COVID-free units, no change in operative slots and staff members not relocated to COVID-19 units were statistically associated with unaltered CRC care in the ‘no delay’ group, while the geographical distribution was not. Conclusions Global changes in diagnostic and therapeutic CRC practices were evident. Changes were associated with differences in health-care delivery systems, hospital’s preparedness, resources availability, and local COVID-19 prevalence rather than geographical factors. Strategic planning is required to optimize CRC care