Título del artículo:

Sustainable use of spilled turbinable energy in Ecuador: Three different energy storage systems

The incorporation of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) in an electrical power system is studied for the application of Energy Time Shift (ETS) or energy arbitrage, taking advantage of the turbinable energy discharged in hydroelectric plants. For this, three storage systems were selected: Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB), Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB), and Hydrogen Storage Systems (H2SS). The spilled turbinable energy available at the Paute Integral hydropower complex in the Republic of Ecuador is taken as the case study. Based on real data from the operation of these plants, a distinctive element of the study, the performance of the selected energy storage systems was analyzed applying the Analytic Hierarchy of Process for decision-making, where technical, economic, and environmental criteria were considered. Electrical energy stored during the early morning seeks to displace the thermal generation during peak hours, close to the demand centers. The results show that all the storage systems analyzed satisfy the required demand, although VRFB is recommended for the ETS. From an economic point of view, LIB represents the best alternative. From a technical point of view, H2SS is slightly superior, while prioritizing environmental aspects, VRFB technology prevails. However, the selection of the best ESS alternative must be continually evaluated, due to permanent technological changes. It is concluded that ESS represent a viable alternative to improve the operational performance of hydroelectric plants, meet the variability of demand, improve the quality of the electrical energy delivered, and displace the pollution-generation plants.

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Título del artículo:

Factors Associated with Cyberbullying Victimisation among Colombian High-School Adolescents

The study’s purpose was to examine the prevalence and explore some factors associated with cyberbullying in high-school adolescents at ​​Santa Marta, Colombia. A cross-sectional study was designed, which participated in students between 13 and 17 years. Participants completed the item for being a victim of cyberbullying of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey for high school students designed by the Center for Disease Control of the United States. A total of 1462 students answered the questionnaire (M = 14.4 years, SD = 0.8). 19.6% (n = 287) reported lifetime cyberbullying victimisation. Cyberbullying victimisation was associated with post-traumatic stress disorder risk (OR = 2.05, 95%CI 1.51–2.79), lifetime cigarette smoking (OR = 1.91, 95%CI 1.42–2.57), female gender (OR = 1.68, 95%CI 1.25–2.26), family dysfunction (OR = 1.68, 95%CI 1.18–2.41), and poor-fair health condition (OR = 1.45, 95%CI 1.08–1.95). Being a victim of cyberbullying is frequent among Colombian high-school adolescents. It is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder risk, cigarette smoking, female gender, family dysfunction, and poor-fair general health condition. Longitudinal investigations are needed to measure better the dynamics of cyberbullying and the nature of such associations.

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Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma

Título del artículo:

Examining Facilitators and Barriers to Cardiac Rehabilitation Adherence in a Low-Resource Setting in Latin America from Multiple Perspectives

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is under-used, particularly in low-resource settings. There are few studies of barriers and facilitators to CR adherence in these settings, particularly considering multiple perspectives. In this multiple-method study, a cross-sectional survey including the Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale (each item scored on a five-point Likert scale) was administered to patients treated between February and July, 2019, in three CR centers in Colombia. A random subsample of 50 participants was invited to a focus group, along with an accompanying relative. Physiotherapists from the programs were invited to an interview, with a similar interview guide. Audio-recordings were transcribed and analyzed using interpretive description. A total of 210 patients completed the survey, and 9 patients, together with 3 of their relatives and 3 physiotherapists, were interviewed. The greatest barriers identified were costs (mean = 2.8 ± 1.6), distance (2.6 ± 1.6) and transportation (2.5 ± 1.6); the logistical subscale was highest. Six themes were identified, pertaining to well-being, life roles, weather, financial factors, healthcare professionals and health system factors. The main facilitators were encouragement from physiotherapists, relatives and other patients. The development of hybrid programs where patients transition from supervised to unsupervised sessions when appropriate should be considered, if health insurers were to reimburse them. Programs should consider the implications regarding policies of family inclusion.

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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Título del artículo:

Letter: Spectrum of hospitalized NeuroCOVID diagnoses from a tertiary care neurology centre in Eastern India

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Journal of Clinical Neuroscience

Título del artículo:

Undergraduate research in medicine: A summary of the evidence on problems, solutions and outcomes

Scientific research plays a fundamental role in current medical practice and it is of great importance that medical students relate to it from the beginning of their professional career, since it generates multiple benefits that will be reflected during the course of their careers as university students and future professionals. However, getting involved in research during the undergraduate years is not always easy, as there are different obstacles and challenges that result in a reduced number of research students. Because of this, it is necessary to adopt appropriate strategies and measures to help facilitate this process, in order to foster the early development of essential skills that will facilitate responsible clinical practice. Knowing the evidence on this issue is fundamental to propose educational solutions depending on each context.

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Annals of Medicine and Surgery

Título del artículo:

Variations in the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across 5 continents: A cross-sectional, individual level analysis

Background: COVID-19 has caused profound socio-economic changes worldwide. However, internationally comparative data regarding the financial impact on individuals is sparse. Therefore, we conducted a survey of the financial impact of the pandemic on individuals, using an international cohort that has been well-characterized prior to the pandemic. Methods: Between August 2020 and September 2021, we surveyed 24,506 community-dwelling participants from the Prospective Urban-Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study across high (HIC), upper middle (UMIC)-and lower middle (LMIC)-income countries. We collected information regarding the impact of the pandemic on their self-reported personal finances and sources of income. Findings: Overall, 32.4% of participants had suffered an adverse financial impact, defined as job loss, inability to meet financial obligations or essential needs, or using savings to meet financial obligations. 8.4% of participants had lost a job (temporarily or permanently); 14.6% of participants were unable to meet financial obligations or essential needs at the time of the survey and 16.3% were using their savings to meet financial obligations. Participants with a post-secondary education were least likely to be adversely impacted (19.6%), compared with 33.4% of those with secondary education and 33.5% of those with pre-secondary education. Similarly, those in the highest wealth tertile were least likely to be financially impacted (26.7%), compared with 32.5% in the middle tertile and 30.4% in the bottom tertile participants. Compared with HICs, financial impact was greater in UMIC [odds ratio of 2.09 (1.88–2.33)] and greatest in LMIC [odds ratio of 16.88 (14.69–19.39)]. HIC participants with the lowest educational attainment suffered less financial impact (15.1% of participants affected) than those with the highest education in UMIC (22.0% of participants affected). Similarly, participants with the lowest education in UMIC experienced less financial impact (28.3%) than those with the highest education in LMIC (45.9%). A similar gradient was seen across country income categories when compared by pre-pandemic wealth status. Interpretation: The financial impact of the pandemic differs more between HIC, UMIC, and LMIC than between socio-economic categories within a country income level. The most disadvantaged socio-economic subgroups in HIC had a lower financial impact from the pandemic than the most advantaged subgroup in UMIC, with a similar disparity seen between UMIC and LMIC. Continued high levels of infection will exacerbate financial inequity between countries and hinder progress towards the sustainable development goals, emphasising the importance of effective measures to control COVID-19 and, especially, ensuring high vaccine coverage in all countries. Funding: Funding for this study was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the International Development Research Centre.

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eClinicalMedicine

Título del artículo:

Variations in risks from smoking between high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: an analysis of data from 179 000 participants from 63 countries

Background: Separate studies suggest that the risks from smoking might vary between high-income (HICs), middle-income (MICs), and low-income (LICs) countries, but this has not yet been systematically examined within a single study using standardised approaches. We examined the variations in risks from smoking across different country income groups and some of their potential reasons. Methods: We analysed data from 134 909 participants from 21 countries followed up for a median of 11·3 years in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) cohort study; 9711 participants with myocardial infarction and 11 362 controls from 52 countries in the INTERHEART case-control study; and 11 580 participants with stroke and 11 331 controls from 32 countries in the INTERSTROKE case-control study. In PURE, all-cause mortality, major cardiovascular disease, cancers, respiratory diseases, and their composite were the primary outcomes for this analysis. Biochemical verification of urinary total nicotine equivalent was done in a substudy of 1000 participants in PURE. Findings: In PURE, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the composite outcome in current smokers (vs never smokers) was higher in HICs (HR 1·87, 95% CI 1·65–2·12) than in MICs (1·41, 1·34–1·49) and LICs (1·35, 1·25–1·46; interaction p<0·0001). Similar patterns were observed for each component of the composite outcome in PURE, myocardial infarction in INTERHEART, and stroke in INTERSTROKE. The median levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide displayed on the cigarette packs from PURE HICs were higher than those on the packs from MICs. In PURE, the proportion of never smokers reporting high second-hand smoke exposure (≥1 times/day) was 6·3% in HICs, 23·2% in MICs, and 14·0% in LICs. The adjusted geometric mean total nicotine equivalent was higher among current smokers in HICs (47·2 μM) than in MICs (31·1 μM) and LICs (25·2 μM; ANCOVA p<0·0001). By contrast, it was higher among never smokers in LICs (18·8 μM) and MICs (11·3 μM) than in HICs (5·0 μM; ANCOVA p=0·0001). Interpretation: The variations in risks from smoking between country income groups are probably related to the higher exposure of tobacco-derived toxicants among smokers in HICs and higher rates of high second-hand smoke exposure among never smokers in MICs and LICs. Funding: Full funding sources are listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments).

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The Lancet Global Health

Título del artículo:

Actinobacteria-enhanced plant growth, nutrient acquisition, and crop protection: Advances in soil, plant, and microbial multifactorial interactions

Agricultural areas of land are deteriorating every day owing to population increase, rapid urbanization, and industrialization. To feed today\'s huge populations, increased crop production is required from smaller areas, which warrants the continuous application of high doses of inorganic fertilizers to agricultural land. These cause damage to soil health and, therefore, nutrient imbalance conditions in arable soils. Under these conditions, the benefits of microbial inoculants (such as Actinobacteria) as replacements for harmful chemicals and promoting ecofriendly sustainable farming practices have been made clear through recent technological advances. There are multifunctional traits involved in the production of different types of bioactive compounds responsible for plant growth promotion, and the biocontrol of phytopathogens has reduced the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. There are some well-known groups of nitrogen-fixing Actinobacteria, such as Frankia, which undergo mutualism with plants and offer enhanced symbiotic trade-offs. In addition to nitrogen fixation, increasing availability of major plant nutrients in soil due to the solubilization of immobilized forms of phosphorus and potassium compounds, production of phytohormones, such as indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-pyruvic acid, gibberellins, and cytokinins, improving organic matter decomposition by releasing cellulases, xylanase, glucanases, lipases, and proteases, and suppression of soil-borne pathogens by the production of siderophores, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and chitinase are important features of Actinobacteria useful for combating biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. The positive influence of Actinobacteria on soil fertility and plant health has motivated us to compile this review of important findings associated with sustaining plant productivity in the long run.

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Pedosphere

Título del artículo:

Seroprevalence and risk factors for Leptospira spp. in small ruminants of semi-arid zone in northeastern Colombia

Leptospirosis in small ruminants is an economically important disease that causes important losses by pathologies of the reproductive tract. The present study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Leptospira spp. in small ruminants under traditional husbandry systems. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in a sample of 1039 animals which included 793 sheep and 245 goats from 49 farms of 10 municipalities of northeastern areas of Colombia. The MAT test using a panel of 13 laboratory serovars was performed to diagnose the Leptospira spp. antibodies in the serum samples of animals. A structured questionnaire was filled in each farm to obtain information on putative risk factors, and its association with Leptospira spp. infection was detected by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The general seroprevalence showed a rate of 13.9%, the 79.6% of farms showed at least one positive animal, the 14.2% and 0.4% of positive animals showed titers ≥ 1:100 and 1:200, respectively. The seroprevalence in sheep and goats showed a rate of 13.1% and 16.2%, respectively. The most common serovars in positive animals were Autumnalis (3.6%), Tarassovi (3.4%), Bratislava (2.9%), Mini (2.9%), Bataviae (1.4%), Canicola (0.3%), and Grippotyphosa (0.3%). The univariate and multivariate analysis showed as risk factors the absence of housing system (OR = 3.412 CI: 1.347–8.152), the absence of quarantine measures to new animals (OR = 1.371 CI: 0.943–1.978), and the protective factor identified was the use of Toggenburg breed (OR = 0.571 CI: 0.249–1.074). This exploratory study showed the Leptospira spp. positive small ruminants located in the northeastern areas of Colombia with titer associated with chronic and subclinical infection.

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Tropical Animal Health and Production

Título del artículo:

Multinational prediction of household and personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the PURE cohort study

Introduction: Use of polluting cooking fuels generates household air pollution (HAP) containing health-damaging levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Many global epidemiological studies rely on categorical HAP exposure indicators, which are poor surrogates of measured PM2.5 levels. To quantitatively characterize HAP levels on a large scale, a multinational measurement campaign was leveraged to develop household and personal PM2.5 exposure models. Methods: The Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE)-AIR study included 48-hour monitoring of PM2.5 kitchen concentrations (n = 2,365) and male and/or female PM2.5 exposure monitoring (n = 910) in a subset of households in Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. PURE-AIR measurements were combined with survey data on cooking environment characteristics in hierarchical Bayesian log-linear regression models. Model performance was evaluated using leave-one-out cross validation. Predictive models were applied to survey data from the larger PURE cohort (22,480 households; 33,554 individuals) to quantitatively estimate PM2.5 exposures. Results: The final models explained half (R2 = 54%) of the variation in kitchen PM2.5 measurements (root mean square error (RMSE) (log scale):2.22) and personal measurements (R2 = 48%; RMSE (log scale):2.08). Primary cooking fuel type, heating fuel type, country and season were highly predictive of PM2.5 kitchen concentrations. Average national PM2.5 kitchen concentrations varied nearly 3-fold among households primarily cooking with gas (20 μg/m3 (Chile); 55 μg/m3 (China)) and 12-fold among households primarily cooking with wood (36 μg/m3 (Chile)); 427 μg/m3 (Pakistan)). Average PM2.5 kitchen concentration, heating fuel type, season and secondhand smoke exposure were significant predictors of personal exposures. Modeled average PM2.5 female exposures were lower than male exposures in upper-middle/high-income countries (India, China, Colombia, Chile). Conclusion: Using survey data to estimate PM2.5 exposures on a multinational scale can cost-effectively scale up quantitative HAP measurements for disease burden assessments. The modeled PM2.5 exposures can be used in future epidemiological studies and inform policies targeting HAP reduction.

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Environment International

Título del artículo:

Knowledge sharing among academics: why organizational narcissism in higher education matters?

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the effects of organizational narcissism on four knowledge-sharing aspects among academics: publications, personal interactions, organizational communication and network interaction. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses a sample of 288 research groups from public and private universities in Colombia. The study used structural equations by the partial least squares method (PLS). Findings: The results indicate that organizational narcissism has a positive and significant influence on the four knowledge-sharing aspects analysed. The greatest effect of organizational narcissism is generated in organizational communication, followed by personal interactions, network interaction and publications. Originality/value: This work contributes to developing the emerging theoretical perspective which gives greater attention to the analysis of organizational behaviours considered strategic given their potential to dynamize knowledge sharing as opposed to focusing on how publications are affected by fragments or specific aspects of organizational culture. The findings show organizational narcissism is one of such strategic behaviours. Moreover, the study sheds light on the controversy between positions for and against organizational narcissism, and the results contradict previous studies that highlight the negative repercussions of this organizational behaviour on publications. In addition, our work provides a perspective that allows for a broader view in evaluating the actual extent of the impact of organizational narcissism, which is not exclusively limited to the publication dimension. In this way, the research horizons of organizational narcissism are also expanded, as regrettably it was long seen as a phenomenon that occurred almost exclusively in the business context.

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VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems

Título del artículo:

Thermodynamics performance optimization of a hybrid solar gas turbine power plant in Colombia

A thermodynamic model is presented for evaluation of a solar hybrid gas-turbine power plant. The model uses variable ambient temperature and estimates direct solar radiation at different day times. The plant is evaluated in Barranquilla, Colombia, with a solar concentration system and a combustion chamber that burns natural gas. The hybrid system enables to maintain almost constant the power output throughout day. The model allows optimizing the different plant parameters and evaluating maximum performance point. This work presents pressure ratio ranges where the maximum values of overall efficiency, power output, thermal engine efficiency and fuel conversion rate are found. The study is based on the environmental conditions of Barranquilla, Colombia. The results obtained shows that optimum pressure ratio range for power output and overall efficiency is between 6.4 and 8.3, when direct solar radiation its maximum at noon. This thermodynamic analysis is necessary to design new generations of solar thermal power plants.

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Título del artículo:

Biomechanical analysis of grip strength in upper limb rehabilitation

This research is based on biomechanics as a science that involves concepts of engineering, mechanics, physic, anatomy, physiology, and many others, to study the human body with the desire to solve certain problems that may affect the performance of an individual in their work or personal level. This work is an investigative process in these areas of scientific and applied disciplines, in which the attention is focused on the hand as a valuable tool for the occupational performance of the human being, since through it is possible to touch, move, grasp, or manipulate objects. Injuries to this limb may be due to various causes, which require complex surgeries and long periods of rehabilitation to be reversed. This research highlights the importance of certain physical concepts that must be understood by the rehabilitation expert in order not to affect the surgery and thus guarantee the maximum functionality of the patient at the end of the recovery cycle.

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Título del artículo:

Simulation of inference test performance for minimum inhibitory concentration censored data

The estimation of the minimum inhibitory concentration is usually performed by a method of serial dilutions by a factor of 2, introducing the overestimation of antimicrobial efficacy, quantified by a simulation model that shows that the variability of the bias is higher for the standard deviation, being dependent on the metric distance to the values of the concentrations used. We use a methodological approach through modeling and simulation for the measurement error of physical variables with censored information, proposing a new inference method based on the calculation of the exact probability for the set of possible samples from n measurements that allows quantifying the p-value in one or two independent sample tests for the comparison of censored data means. Tests based on exact probability methods offer a reasonable solution for small sample sizes, with statistical power varying according to the hypothesis evaluated, providing insight into the limitations of censored data analysis and providing a tool for decision making in the diagnosis of antimicrobial efficacy.

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Título del artículo:

Editorial: Maternal-Perinatal Risk and Children-Adolescent Health

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Frontiers in Public Health

Título del artículo:

Cell lysis analysis for respiratory viruses through simulation modeling

An ordinary system of differential equations leading to a simulation model is propose as methodological approach to analysis the incidence of infectious-contagious diseases, in this case using SARS-CoV-2 virus as pathogenic model. The dynamics of the model are drive by the interaction between susceptible cells contemplating respiratory epithelial cells and viral infection mediated by two types of lysis response. To perform the simulations, values of some variables and parameters were selected from referenced sources, considering that previous reports suggested that the viral load in the lower respiratory tract might reach its peak in the second week after the beginning of disease symptoms. The scenarios described in the simulations evidence the performance of the cell lysis response from susceptible cells that have been infected. The recommend model shows that an excess response from both the original virus and the mutated virus leads to an increase in the approximate time to control viral infection within the organism.

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Título del artículo:

Mathematical modelling of binge drinking from social interactions

Binge drinking is a multi-factorial problem where peer influence in the immediate environment has a key role in the appearance of the first episode and the recurrence. However, information regarding the interaction of variables that mediate the influence among people is limited. Binge drinking pattern is generally derived from interrelationships with other drinking states in a manner analogous to the susceptible-infectious relationship. Nevertheless, the classic modelling approach is not appropriate because the periodicity of consumption is associated with specific social contexts where social drinkers adopt binge drinking. We analyse the temporal evolution of binge drinkers, formulating a discrete mathematical model that incorporates the effect of the size of the influence group, the incitement-to-use and the refractoriness to recurrence as parameters. Our results allow evaluating the potential impact of interventions according to the individual and social characteristics of the susceptible population. New horizons of epidemiological research are established to prevent alcoholism.

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Journal of Difference Equations and Applications

Título del artículo:

Tourism and agriculture: a logical relationship from the conception of gastronomy

The present work contains partial results of an investigation on the proposal of a tourist and gastronomic route in Santander, Colombia. The research focused on analyzing the link between tourism and agriculture as a factor that could generate a positive influence on the sustainability of the countryside, on the development of agricultural and tourist production in Santander. From the methodological point of view, it is a non-experimental investigation, based on the direct observation of reality, coupled with the analysis of descriptive aspects from a set of semi-structured interviews carried out with farmers in the area under study. The study emphasized on showing that this relationship could be possible from the application of some of the modalities of rural, community, gastronomic or agri-food tourism, where the concept of gastronomy integrates all the actors that are part of the processes of production, transformation and consumption of food produced in the field. From this proposal, it was possible to observe that there is a close relationship between tourism and agriculture, which allows us to think of a gastronomic rural tourism that has as its purpose, to generate sustainable alternatives for economic and social development in rural areas. The main conclusions underline the trend observed worldwide, in which gastronomy is incorporated as a fundamental part of the tourism-agriculture relationship, to find mechanisms that promote tourism activity while strengthening the rural economy and contributing to the maintenance of agricultural spaces rural as places of recreation, leisure and agricultural production. Thus, they can manage sustainable tourism projects where food is part of the tourist attraction, managed by the community itself. In addition to providing the peasant with other means of subsistence complementary to their agricultural work, which at the same time constitute a recognition of the valuable contribution they make to the gastronomic process of the locality and adapt to the needs of the current tourist.

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Agroalimentaria

Título del artículo:

Post pancreaticoduodenectomy complications of periampullary tumors in a hepatopancreatobiliary surgery unit

Introduction: Periampullary tumors are defined as lesions that are located in a radius of 2 centimeters around the ampulla of Vater, constituted by 4 types of neoplasms with a high rate of malignancy originated in the pancreas, ampulla, distal bile duct or duodenum. Surgical management through the pancreatoduode-nectomy remains the best choice in terms of curative resection. Objetive: To characterize periampullary tumors treated in our institution with pancreatoduodenectomy, associating the relationship between tumor type and postoperative complications. Material and Method: Cross-sectional, retrospective, observational study with a follow-up of 45 patients underwent pancreatoduodenectomy in the Hospital Internacional de Colombia-Fundación Cardiovascular between January 2011 and March 2020 with histopathological diagnosis of periampullary tumor. Results: Were performed 75 pancreatoduodenectomies, 45 patients presented with Periampullary tumor, 44% being of pancreatic origin, followed by ampulla 40%, distal bile duct 8.8% and duodenal 6.6%. Most frequent postoperative complications were pancreatic fistula and delayed gastric emptying. Mortality was of 1 patient. Conclusion: Pancreatoduodenectomy is a procedure with a high morbidity rate. Thanks to technological advances, the diagnosis of periampullary pathology is increasingly accurate. The type of periampullary tumor may influence not only in its prognosis, but also in its post-surgical morbidity.

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Revista de Cirugia

Título del artículo:

Insulin Resistance Markers to Detect Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Male Hispanic Population

Background. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease and is closely associated with cardiometabolic disorders, being insulin resistance (IR) the common pathogenic mechanism. The triglycerides/glucose (TyG) index and triglycerides/HDL-c (TG/HDL) ratio are markers correlated with IR. We compared the capacity of these two indexes, alongside IR, to detect NAFLD. Methods. In a cross-sectional cohort study, we examined 263 active military personnel from the Colombian Air Force, aged between 29 and 54 years. Anthropometric measurements and biochemical determinations (glycemia, lipid profile, and insulin) were obtained, and ultrasound studies were performed to evaluate the presence of NAFLD. HOMA-IR index was calculated as (fasting insulin (μIU/mL) × fasting glucose (mmol/L)/22.5), the TyG index as Ln (triglycerides (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2), and the TG/HDL ratio as (triglycerides (mg/dL)/HDL-c (mg/dL)). Results. NAFLD ultrasound criteria were met in 70 individuals (26.6%). Subjects with NAFLD had significantly higher values of HOMA-IR (2.55 ± 1.36 vs. 1.51 ± 0.91), TyG (9.17 ± 0.53 vs. 8.7 ± 0.51), and TG/HDL (6.6 ± 4.54 vs. 3.52 ± 2.32) compared to those without NAFLD p<0.001. A TyG cutoff point of 8.92 showed an AUC of 0.731, while cutoff points of 3.83 for TG/HDL and 1.68 for HOMA-IR showed an AUC of 0.766 and 0.781, respectively. Conclusion. Our study shows that novel and lower-cost markers of IR are useful for detecting NALFD, with a performance comparable to the HOMA-IR index. These markers should be used as the first step when screening patients for NAFLD.

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Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Título del artículo:

Scale of Prosocial Behavior: Psychometric Evidence in Adolescents from the Colombian Caribbean

The present study aimed to carry out the corroboration of the psychometric characteristics of the Prosocial Behavior Scale for Adolescents of Balabanian & Lemos (2018). A non-probabilistic snowball sample of 612 adolescent high school students from the department of Cesar, Colombia was taken. The results of the Parallel Exploratory Factor Analysis support a 2-dimensional structure of the instrument with 25 items; Likewise, the Confirmatory Factor Analysis using ULS shows the following goodness of fit indicators: CMIN/DF=2.53, IFI=.972, TLI.969, CFI=.972, GFI=.994, SRMR=.059 and RMSEA=.07. Concurrent validity is also evidenced by positive and significant correlation between the Prosocial Behavior Scale and its dimensions and the three components of an emotional intelligence measurement. Similarly, in terms of evidence of reliability, α=.915 and ω=.915 were found for the entire scale; these same Cronbach\'s Alpha and McDonald\'s Omega values for each of the two dimensions of the instrument are greater than .85. It is concluded that the instrument has adequate psychometric characteristics for the measurement of prosocial behavior in the adolescent population of the Colombian Caribbean.

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Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnostico y Evaluacion Psicologica

Título del artículo:

Interchangeability of optical tracking technologies: potential overestimation of the sprint running load demands in the English Premier League

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between match-derived running load outputs; total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR) and sprint distance (SPR) obtained by two optical tracking systems. Methods: Data were collected from 31 elite footballers from the first team and under-21 squads of an English Premier League (EPL) football club across three competitive matches. One EPL game (game 2) and one under-21 Premier League game (game 3) were played at the team’s home stadium and one EPL game (game 1) at an away venue. All matches were tracked concomitantly using eight colour cameras sampling at 10 Hz (PROZONE®) and six high-definition motion cameras sampling at 25 Hz (TRACAB®). Results: TD displayed a perfect (r = 0.99) correlation while HSR and SPR displayed very large (r = 0.81 and r = 0.73) correlations between TRACAB® and PROZONE®. Mean biases were 5% for TD, −3% for HSR and 61% for SPR. Between games, mean biases for TD were 6% for game 1, and 5% for game 2 and game 3. For HSR, 9% for game 1, −5% for game 2 and 6% for game 3 and for SPR, 31% for game 1, 71% for game 2 and 84% for game 3. Conclusion: TD and HSR can be interchanged between PROZONE® and TRACAB®, to allow accurate interpretation between the two optical systems. PROZONE® overestimated SPR compared to the TRACAB®, with the magnitude of difference considered meaningful, altering interpretation of historical match outputs, sprint volume trends in the EPL and forecasts of the modern game.

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Science and Medicine in Football

Título del artículo:

Detection of Pathogenic E. Coli by Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Aptamers Designed by Bioinformatic Tools

In this work, we present the in-silico design of a new aptamer (named Apt917) capable of interacting with E. coli and its evaluation as a recognition element in electrochemical biosensors. A search and bioinformatic analysis of various aptamers reported in the literature was carried out. Parameters such as low dissociation constant and short sequences were considered to design and model new hybrid sequences. The designed Apt917 has a minimum free energy and high percent to frequency, making it promising compared to the initial ones. Apt917 was synthesized and immobilized on gold nanoparticles-modified screen-printed electrodes. The evaluation of the obtained biosensor shows a promising detection of E. coli O157:H7 with limits of detection and quantification of 8 and 27 CFU/mL, respectively.

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Chemical Engineering Transactions

Título del artículo:

Factors related to healthcare costs of road traffic accidents in Bucaramanga, Colombia

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors related to overall healthcare costs of road traffic accidents in Bucaramanga, Colombia. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted through the analysis of road traffic accident records that took place in 2019 in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Cost quartiles in dollars were compared using Pearson’s chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests. Odds ratios were also calculated in logistic regression. RESULTS: 3,150 road accidents were reported in 2019 involving 7,038 people, of which 812 had information related to healthcare costs in health care institutions. The median cost was 56.59 USD (RI = 29.35–140.15), average cost of 290.11 USD ± 731.22 (95%CI: 239.74–340.48). A higher possibility to be in the 4th quartile was found when persons were under 18 years of age (OR = 4.88; 95%CI: 1.30–18.32) or 46–60 years (OR = 3.66; 95%CI: 1.01–13.30), the type of vehicle involved is motorcycle (OR = 2.79; 95%CI: 1.25–6.24), bicycle (OR = 7.66; 95%CI: 2.70–21.68), having a head injury (OR = 4.50; 95%CI: 2.61–7.76) and hypothetical drunk driving (OR = 12.44; 95%CI: 2.01–76.87). CONCLUSIONS: Relevant factors in healthcare costs were riding a motorcycle or bicycle, having a head injury, being under 18 years of age or 46 to 60 years of age and hypothetical drunk driving. It is important to implement prevention measures based on identified factors to reduce road accident rate and therefore, its socioeconomic costs

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Revista de Saude Publica

Título del artículo:

Clinical Proof of Concept for Stabilization of Tracheostomy Tubes Using Novel DYNAtraq Device

Introduction: Tracheostomy is one of the most common surgical strategies in intensive care units (ICU) and provides relevant clinical benefit for multiple indications. However, the complications associated with its use range from 5 to 40% according to different series. The risk of these complications could be reduced if fixation strategies and alignment of the tracheostomy tube with respect to the tracheal axis are improved. Aim: To build a functional device of technological innovation in respiratory medicine for the fixation and alignment of tracheostomy cannula (acronym DYNAtraq) and to evaluate its feasibility and safety in a pilot study in mechanically ventilated patients. Methods: Study carried out in four phases: (1) design engineering and functional prototyping of the device; (2) study of cytotoxicity and tolerance to the force of traction and push; (3) pilot study of feasibility and safety of its use in tracheostomized and mechanically ventilated patients; and (4) health workers satisfaction study. Results: The design of the innovative DYNAtraq device included, on the one hand, a connector with very little additional dead space to be inserted between the cannula and the ventilation tubes, and, on the other hand, a shaft with two supports for adhesion to the skin of the thorax with very high tolerance (several kilograms) to pull and push. In patients, the device corrected the malpositioned tracheostomy tubes for the latero-lateral (p < 0.001) and cephalo-caudal angles (p < 0.001). Its effect was maintained throughout the follow-up time (p < 0.001). The use of DYNAtraq did not induce serious adverse events and showed a 70% protective effect for complications (RR = 0.3, p < 0.001) in patients. Conclusion: DYNAtraq is a new device for respiratory medicine that allows the stabilization, alignment and fixation of tracheostomy tubes in mechanically ventilated patients. Its use provides additional benefits to traditional forms of support as it corrects misalignment and increases tolerance to habitual or forced movements. DYNAtraq is a safe element and can reduce the complications of tracheostomy tubes.

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Medical Devices: Evidence and Research