Perceived Quality of Care, Receipt of Preventive Care, and Usual Source of Health Care Among Undocumented and Other Latinos

Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States and experience persistent disparities in access to and quality of health care. (1) To determine the relationship between nativity/immigration status and self-reported quality of care and preventive care. (2) To assess the impact of a usual source of health care on receipt of preventive care among Latinos. Using cross-sectional data from the 2007 Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Hispanic Healthcare Survey, a nationally representative telephone survey of 4,013 Latino adults, we compared US-born Latinos with foreign-born Latino citizens, foreign-born Latino permanent residents and undocumented Latinos. We estimated odds ratios using separate multivariate ordered logistic models for five outcomes: blood pressure checked in the past 2 years, cholesterol checked in the past 5 years, perceived quality of medical care in the past year, perceived receipt of no health/health-care information from a doctor in the past year, and language concordance. Undocumented Latinos had the lowest percentages of insurance coverage (37% vs 77% US-born, P < 0.001), usual source of care (58% vs 79% US-born, P < 0.001), blood pressure checked (67% vs 87% US-born, P < 0.001), cholesterol checked (56% vs 83% US-born, P < 0.001), and reported excellent/good care in the past year (76% vs 80% US-born, P < 0.05). Undocumented Latinos also reported the highest percentage receiving no health/health-care information from their doctor (40% vs 20% US-born, P < 0.001) in the past year. Adjusted results showed that undocumented status was associated with lower likelihood of blood pressure checked in the previous 2 years (OR = 0.60; 95% CI, 0.43–0.84), cholesterol checked in the past 5 years (OR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.39–0.99), and perceived receipt of excellent/good care in the past year (OR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.39–0.77). Having a usual source of care increased the likelihood of a blood pressure check in the past 2 years and a cholesterol check in the past 5 years. In this national sample, undocumented Latinos were less likely to report receiving blood pressure and cholesterol level checks, less likely to report having received excellent/good quality of care, and more likely to receive no health/health-care information from doctors, even after adjusting for potential confounders. Our study shows that differences in nativity/immigration status should be taken into consideration when we discuss perceived quality of care among Latinos

Luminescent and Scintillating Properties of Lanthanum Fluoride Nanocrystals in Response to Gamma/Neutron Irradiation: Codoping with Ce Activator, Yb Wavelength Shifter, and Gd Neutron Captor

A novel concept for detection and spectroscopy of gamma rays, and detection of thermal neutrons based on codoped lanthanum fluoride nanocrystals containing gadolinium is presented.The trends of colloidal synthesis of the mentioned material, LaF3 co-doped with Ce as the activator, Yb as the wavelength-shifter and Gd as the neutron captor, is reported. Nanocrystals of the mentioned material were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), optical absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Gamma detection and its potential spectroscopy feature have been confirmed. The neutron detection capability has been confirmed by experiments performed using a 252Cf neutron source.Comment: 5 figures, 16 page

Primera Cátedra Universitaria De Medicina Del Estilo De Vida En Perú y Latinoamérica: First University Chair of Lifestyle Medicine in Peru and Latin America

Lifestyle Medicine is the new global medical discipline considered the seventh era of public health. 1,2 In 2004, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine emerged in the United States of America (https://www.lifestylemedicine.org/). In Europe, the European Organization for Lifestyle Medicine (https://www.eulm.org/) was created. Since 2014 the Latin American Association of Lifestyle Medicine (http://lalma.co/) has been working in more than 12 countries in the region. Currently, Lifestyle Medicine has a presence on five continents.Medicina del Estilo de Vida es la nueva disciplina médica global considerada la séptima era de la salud publica. 1,2 En el año 2004 surgió el Colegio Americano de Medicina del Estilo de Vida en los Estados Unidos de América (https://www.lifestylemedicine.org/). En Europa se creó la Organización Europea de Medicina del Estilo de Vida (https://www.eulm.org/). Desde el año 2014 la Asociación Latinoamericana de Medicina del Estilo de Vida (http://lalma.co/) viene trabajando en más de 12 países de la región. Actualmente Medicina del Estilo de Vida tiene presencia en los cinco continentes

Avances en investigación: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Biomédicas (INICIB), Universidad Ricardo Palma: Research Progress: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Biomédicas (INICIB), Universidad Ricardo Palma

One of the essential functions of the university is to promote, support and strengthen research, as a source to generate new knowledge and as a scientific tool in search of practical solutions to everyday problems in society. The Universidad Ricardo Palma, represented by their dean as its highest authority, offers the university’s academic framework and the institution’s policies will in order to move forward in research policies.Una de las funciones esenciales de la Universidad es promover, respaldar y fortalecer la investigación, como fuente para generar nuevo conocimiento y como herramienta científica para la búsqueda de soluciones prácticas a los problemas cotidianos de la sociedad. La Universidad Ricardo Palma, representado por la máxima autoridad el señor Rector, brinda el contexto académico universitario y la voluntad política institucional, para avanzar en políticas de investigación

Lanzamiento del programa especial 100 x 100 URP para contribuir a la producción científica: Launching of the special 100 x 100 URP program for contributing to scientific production

Research should be seen as the most appropriate way for the university to invest and allocate resources. Thanks to the vision, work and impetus of the Rector of the Universidad Ricardo Palma, we are pleased to present this special program today.La investigación debe ser considerada como el mejor camino de inversión y asignación de recursos por la universidad. Gracias a la visión, el trabajo y el impulso desde Rectorado de la Universidad Ricardo Palma, hoy tenemos el gusto de presentar este programa especial

An unusual imported case of diphyllobothriosis in Mexico

The aim of the present study was to estimate the relative contribution of immunogenetic and microbiological factors in the development of recurrent tonsillitis in a Mexican population. Patients (n = 138) with recurrent tonsillitis and an indication of tonsillectomy (mean age: 6.05 years ± 3.00; median age: 5 years, female: 58; age range: 1±15 years) and 195 nonrelated controls older than 18 years and a medical history free of recurrent tonsillitis were included. To evaluate the microbial contribution, tonsil swab samples from both groups and extracted tonsil samples from cases were cultured. Biofilm production of isolated bacteria was measured. To assess the immunogenetic component, DNA from peripheral blood was genotyped for the TNFA-308G/A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and for the IL1B -31C/T SNP. Normal microbiota, but no pathogens or potential pathogens, were identified from all control sample cultures. The most frequent pathogenic species detected in tonsils from cases were Staphylococcus aureus (48.6%, 67/138) and Haemophilus influenzae (31.9%, 44/138), which were found more frequently in patient samples than in samples from healthy volunteers (P < 0.0001). Importantly, 41/54 (75.9%) S. aureus isolates were biofilm producers (18 weak and 23 strong), whereas 17/25 (68%) H. influenzae isolates were biofilm producers (10 weak, and 7 strong biofilm producers). Patients with at least one copy of the IL1B-31*C allele had a higher risk of recurrent tonsillitis (OR = 4.03; 95% CI = 1.27± 14.27; P = 0.013). TNFA-308 G/A alleles were not preferentially distributed among the groups. When considering the presence of IL1B-31*C plus S. aureus, IL1B-31*C plus S. aureus biofilm producer, IL1B-31*C plus H. influenzae or IL1B-31*C plus H. influenzae biofilm producer, the OR tended to infinite. Thus, the presence of IL1B-31*C allele plus presence of S. aureus and/or H. influenzae could be related to the development of tonsilitis in this particular Mexican population

Economic evaluation of sunitinib versus pazopanib and best supportive care for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma in Chile: cost-effectiveness analysis and a mixed treatment comparison

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: Sunitinib and Pazopanib are two metastatic renal cell carcinoma (MRCC) treatment alternatives, however the health system in Chile does not consider coverage for any. The cost-effectiveness versus relevant comparator was assessed to support evidence-based decision making. Methods: A four health states Markov model was built: first, second line treatments, BSC and death. Benefits were measured in QALYs, and efficacy estimates were obtained from an indirect treatment comparison. A 10-year time horizon and a 3% undifferentiated discount rate were considered. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: The costs of treating MRCC with Sunitinib were higher than Pazopanib and BSC. When comparing Sunitinib versus Pazopanib, the incremental benefit is small favoring Sunitinib (0.03 QALYs). The base case scenario shows an average ICER of PA versus BSC of US$62,327.11/QALY and of US$85,885/QALY for Sunitinib versus Pazopanib. The ICER was most sensitive to the OS relative to BSC, where evidence was associated to important bias. Conclusions: Sunitinib or Pazopanib can be considered cost-effective if a 3 GDP per-capita threshold is assumed. The decision between SU or PA is highly sensitive to the price of the drugs, rather than the outcomes. Therefore, the decision might be made based on cost-minimization exercise

Conservation biogeography of ecologically interacting species: The case of the Iberian lynx and the European rabbit

Aim To relate the recent Iberian lynx decline to changes in the distribution of the European rabbit after the haemorrhagic disease outbreak of 1989. As Iberian rabbits evolved in two geographically separated lineages, being the recent lynx range practically restricted to the southwestern lineage, we also test if differential range dynamics exists for these lineages, with the consequent implications for lynx conservation and reintroduction planning