Análisis de las fases del rescate acuático como elemento discriminativo del rendimiento / Analysis of the phases of lifesaving as a discriminative element of performance

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the different phases of a water rescue, their influence in the whole lifesavingand if lifeguards could be differentiated according to their abilities during a water rescue.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to analyze the different phases and lifeguard’sabilities of a simulated water rescue of 100 m. Thirty-fourprofessional lifeguards performed the test and the time was recorded for the first phase (swimming to the victim), the second phase (towing back the victim) and the third phase (extracting the victim). A discriminant analysis was conducted in order to classifylifeguards in two groups (high or medium level of abilities during the water rescue) and the times were compared on each phase.Results: The time during the second and the third phase classify correctly the lifeguards according to their level of abilities. Lifeguards with higher level of abilities performed the water rescue significantly faster, specifically during the second (p < 0.001, ES =1.38, large) and the third phase (p =0.002, ES = 1.09, medium), but no differences were found in the first part of the water rescue (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The time of a simulated water rescue seems to bea good method to classify lifeguards according to their abilities. These findings could allow rescue teams to know the skills of their lifeguards and design strategiesin order to decrease risks and enhance lifesaving (AU)

Objetivo: Analizar las diferentes fases del rescate para conocer su influencia sobre el resultado final y categorizar a los socorristas de acuerdo a su competencia acuática.Métodos: Se realizó un estudio cruzado simulando un rescate a 100 metros con 34 socorristas, analizando las tres fases del rescate: nado hacia la víctima, traslado a tierra y extracción. Se realizó un análisis discriminante para clasificar a los socorristas según el tiempo de rescate.Resultados: La segunda y la tercera fase clasificó correctamente a los socorristas de acuerdo al tiempo empleado. La mayor competencia fue determinada especialmente en la segunda fase del salvamento (p<0,001, TE=1,38, grande) y en menor medida de la tercera fase (p=0,002, TE=1,09, mediano).Conclusión: El tiempo empleado en la segunda fase parece ser un buen método para clasificar la competencia de los socorristas durante el rescate. Estos hallazgos proporcionan información relevante para el entrenamiento y organización de equipos de rescate (AU)

80% Valley Polarization of Free Carriers in Singly Oriented Single-Layer WS_{2} on Au(111).

We employ time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study the spin- and valley-selective photoexcitation and dynamics of free carriers at the K[over ¯] and K[over ¯]^{'} points in singly oriented single-layer WS_{2}/Au(111). Our results reveal that in the valence band maximum an ultimate valley polarization of free holes of 84% can be achieved upon excitation with circularly polarized light at room temperature. Notably, we observe a significantly smaller valley polarization for the photoexcited free electrons in the conduction band minimum. Clear differences in the carrier dynamics between electrons and holes imply intervalley scattering processes into dark states being responsible for the efficient depolarization of the excited electron population.

Application of bioelectrical impedance analysis in prediction of light kid carcass and muscle chemical composition.

Carcass data were collected from 24 kids (average live weight of 12.5±5.5 kg; range 4.5 to 22.4 kg) of Jarmelista Portuguese native breed, to evaluate bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) as a technique for prediction of light kid carcass and muscle chemical composition. Resistance (Rs, Ω) and reactance (Xc, Ω), were measured in the cold carcasses with a single frequency bioelectrical impedance analyzer and, together with impedance (Z, Ω), two electrical volume measurements (VolA and VolB, cm2/Ω), carcass cold weight (CCW), carcass compactness and several carcass linear measurements were fitted as independent variables to predict carcass composition by stepwise regression analysis. The amount of variation explained by VolA and VolB only reached a significant level (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively) for muscle weight, moisture, protein and fat-free soft tissue content, even so with low accuracy, with VolA providing the best results (0.326⩽R 2⩽0.366). Quite differently, individual BIA parameters (Rs, Xc and Z) explained a very large amount of variation in dissectible carcass fat weight (0.814⩽R 2⩽0.862; P<0.01). These individual BIA parameters also explained a large amount of variation in subcutaneous and intermuscular fat weights (respectively 0.749⩽R 2⩽0.793 and 0.718⩽R 2⩽0.760; P<0.01), and in muscle chemical fat weight (0.663⩽R 2⩽0.684; P<0.01). Still significant but much lower was the variation in muscle, moisture, protein and fat-free soft tissue weights (0.344⩽R 2⩽0.393; P<0.01) explained by BIA parameters. Still, the best models for estimation of muscle, moisture, protein and fat-free soft tissue weights included Rs in addition to CCW, and accounted for 97.1% to 99.8% (P<0.01) of the variation observed, with CCW by itself accounting for 97.0% to 99.6% (P<0.01) of that variation. Resistance was the only independent variable selected for the best model predicting subcutaneous fat weight. It was also selected for the best models predicting carcass fat weight (combined with carcass length, CL; R 2=0.943; P<0.01) and intermuscular fat weight (combined with CCW; R 2=0.945; P<0.01). The best model predicting muscle chemical fat weight combined CCW and Z, explaining 85.6% (P<0.01) of the variation observed. These results indicate BIA as a useful tool for prediction of light kids' carcass composition.

Effect of High and Low Flexibility Levels on Physical Fitness and Neuromuscular Properties in Professional Soccer Players.

This study aimed to analyse the impact of high and low flexibility levels of hamstring and quadriceps muscles on physical fitness and neuromuscular properties in professional soccer players. 62 male professional soccer players participated in this study and performed 2 instrumented flexibility tests (passive straight leg raise [PSLR] and quadriceps flexibility [QF]). Anaerobic performance was assessed using countermovement jump (CMJ), Abalakov vertical jump, 20-m sprint, and Balsom agility test. A k-means cluster analysis was performed to identify a cut-off value of hamstring and quadriceps flexibility and classify players as high hamstring flexibility (HHF) and low hamstring flexibility (LHF) or high quadriceps flexibility (HQF) and low quadriceps flexibility (LQF), respectively, according to the PSLR and QF performances. The LQF players performed better than HQF on CMJ (p=0.042, ES: 0.64) and Balsom agility test (p=0.029, ES: 0.68). In addition, LQF showed higher muscular stiffness than HQF players (p=0.002, ES: 0.88). There were no significant differences between HHF and LHF groups. When pooling the HQF and LQF players' data, the Pearson's correlation showed significant moderate positive association between muscular stiffness and QF (r=0.516, p<0.001). These results support the rationale that baseline stiffness is likely to influence athletic performance rather than flexibility level in soccer players.

The effect of feed water dissolved organic carbon concentration and composition on organic micropollutant removal and microbial diversity in soil columns simulating river bank filtration.

This study investigated organic micropollutant (OMP) biodegradation rates in laboratory-scale soil columns simulating river bank filtration (RBF) processes. The dosed OMP mixture consisted of 11 pharmaceuticals, 6 herbicides, 2 insecticides and 1 solvent. Columns were filled with soil from a RBF site and were fed with four different organic carbon fractions (hydrophilic, hydrophobic, transphilic and river water organic matter (RWOM)). Additionally, the effect of a short-term OMP/dissolved organic carbon (DOC) shock-load (e.g. quadrupling the OMP concentrations and doubling the DOC concentration) on OMP biodegradation rates was investigated to assess the resilience of RBF systems. The results obtained in this study imply that - in contrast to what is observed for managed aquifer recharge systems operating on wastewater effluent - OMP biodegradation rates are not affected by the type of organic carbon fraction fed to the soil column, in case of stable operation. No effect of a short-term DOC shock-load on OMP biodegradation rates between the different organic carbon fractions was observed. This means that the RBF site simulated in this study is resilient towards transient higher DOC concentrations in the river water. However, a temporary OMP shock-load affected OMP biodegradation rates observed for the columns fed with the river water organic matter (RWOM) and the hydrophilic fraction of the river water organic matter. These different biodegradation rates did not correlate with any of the parameters investigated in this study (cellular adenosine triphosphate (cATP), DOC removal, specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA), richness/evenness of the soil microbial population or OMP category (hydrophobicity/charge).

A predictive multi-linear regression model for organic micropollutants, based on a laboratory-scale column study simulating the river bank filtration process.

This study investigated relationships between OMP biodegradation rates and the functional groups present in the chemical structure of a mixture of 31 OMPs. OMP biodegradation rates were determined from lab-scale columns filled with soil from RBF site Engelse Werk of the drinking water company Vitens in The Netherlands. A statistically significant relationship was found between OMP biodegradation rates and the functional groups of the molecular structures of OMPs in the mixture. The OMP biodegradation rate increased in the presence of carboxylic acids, hydroxyl groups, and carbonyl groups, but decreased in the presence of ethers, halogens, aliphatic ethers, methyl groups and ring structures in the chemical structure of the OMPs. The predictive model obtained from the lab-scale soil column experiment gave an accurate qualitative prediction of biodegradability for approximately 70% of the OMPs monitored in the field (80% excluding the glymes). The model was found to be less reliable for the more persistent OMPs (OMPs with predicted biodegradation rates lower or around the standard error=0.77d(-1)) and OMPs containing amide or amine groups. These OMPs should be carefully monitored in the field to determine their removal during RBF.

Sorption and biodegradation of organic micropollutants during river bank filtration: a laboratory column study.

This study investigated sorption and biodegradation behaviour of 14 organic micropollutants (OMP) in soil columns representative of the first metre (oxic conditions) of the river bank filtration (RBF) process. Breakthrough curves were modelled to differentiate between OMP sorption and biodegradation. The main objective of this study was to investigate if the OMP biodegradation rate could be related to the physico-chemical properties (charge, hydrophobicity and molecular weight) or functional groups of the OMPs. Although trends were observed between charge or hydrophobicity and the biodegradation rate for charged compounds, a statistically significant linear relationship for the complete OMP mixture could not be obtained using these physico-chemical properties. However, a statistically significant relationship was obtained between biological degradation rates and the OMP functional groups. The presence of ethers and carbonyl groups will increase biodegradability, while the presence of amines, ring structures, aliphatic ethers and sulphur will decrease biodegradability. This predictive model based on functional groups can be used by drinking water companies to make a first estimate whether a newly detected compound will be biodegraded during the first metre of RBF or that additional treatment is required. In addition, the influence of active and inactive biomass (biosorption), sand grains and the water matrix on OMP sorption was found to be negligible under the conditions investigated in this study. Retardation factors for most compounds were close to 1, indicating mobile behaviour of these compounds during soil passage. Adaptation of the biomass towards the dosed OMPs was not observed for a 6 month period, implying that new developed RBF sites might not be able to biodegrade compounds such as atrazine and sulfamethoxazole in the first few months of operation.

Metastasis of gastric carcinoma simulating a urothelial tumor. Case report and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To review two cases with the diagnostic suspicion of urinary tract tumor by clinical picture and imaging tests in which pathology of the surgical specimen revealed metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma. METHODS: 82 and 68 year-old patients with past history of gastric adenocarcinoma that had undergone surgical treatment 6 months and 6 years before urology consultation,respectively. They were diagnosed upper urinary tract tumors by CT scan. RESULTS: Definitive pathologic diagnosis of urinary tract metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma was obtained after radical surgery in both cases. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and radiologic presentation of urothelial metastases of gastric adenocarcinoma may simulate de novo urothelial tumors. Evolution in these patients is usually bad although we currently don't have enough information to issue a therapeutic guide to follow.

Influence of recycled aggregate quality and proportioning criteria on recycled concrete properties.

This paper presents the results of experimental research using concrete produced by substituting part of the natural coarse aggregates with recycled aggregates from concrete demolition. The influence of the quality of the recycled aggregate (amount of declassified and source of aggregate), the percentage of replacement on the targeted quality of the concrete to be produced (strength and workability) has been evaluated. The granular structure of concrete and replacement criteria were analyzed in this study, factors which have not been analyzed in other studies. The following properties of recycled concretes were analyzed: density, absorption, compressive strength, elastic modulus, amount of occluded air, penetration of water under pressure and splitting tensile strength. A simplified test program was designed to control the costs of the testing while still producing sufficient data to develop reliable conclusions in order to make the number of tests viable whilst guaranteeing the reliability of the conclusions. Several factors were analyzed including the type of aggregate, the percentage of replacement, the type of sieve curve, the declassified content, the strength of concrete and workability of concrete and the replacement criteria. The type of aggregate and the percentage of replacement were the only factors that showed a clear influence on most of the properties. Compressive strength is clearly affected by the quality of recycled aggregates. If the water-cement ratio is kept constant and the loss of workability due to the effect of using recycled aggregate is compensated for with additives, the percentage of replacement of the recycled aggregate will not affect the compressive strength. The elastic modulus is affected by the percentage of replacement. If the percentage of replacement does not exceed 50%, the elastic modulus will only change slightly.

Consideraqciones perioperatorias en el paciente geriátrico: punto de vista del anestesiólogo / Perioperative considerations in elderly patient: anesthetist´s point of view

El paciente geriátrico, tiene todavía las mayores tasas de mortalidad y morbilidad dentro de la población quirúrgica adulta hospitalaria. La valoración clínica preoperatoria para detectar pacientes de alto riesgo y un abordaje anestésico específico en el intra y posoperatorio, son importantes para minimizar los eventos adversos en el anciano. El manejo de este tipo de pacientes requiere conocimientos de los cambios asociados a la edad y la fisiología de la cirugía y la anestesia. Con toda esta información, los pacientes pueden ser correctamente evaluados y las estrategias de cuidado perioperatorio (anestesia, cuidados críticos y terapia del dolor), puestas en marcha

Elderly patient still have the highest postoperative mortality and morbidity rate in the adult surgical hospitalary population. Preoperative clinical assessment to detect patients at risk of postoperative events, and speccific intraoperative and postoperative anesthesia management are important to minimize postoperative adverse events in the elderly. The management of these patients require knowledge of changes associated with aging and the physiology of surgery and anesthesia. Using this information, patients can be clinically evaluated effectively and plans made for their perioperative care (anesthesia, intensive care and treatment of pain)

Estudio epidemiológico de las fracturas proximales del fémur en una población mayor de 69 años durante los años 2000-2001 / Epidemiological study of proximal fractures of the femur in a population over 69 years-old in 2000-2001

Objetivo. Las fracturas de cadera del anciano son una de las patologías más frecuentes en nuestro medio y suponen un gran coste sanitario. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los caracteres epidemiológicos de una población concreta. Material y método. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo de las historias clínicas, y mediante entrevistas personales en los lugares de residencia de los pacientes mayores de 69 años que sufrieron una fractura de la extremidad del fémur desde el 1 de enero de 2000 hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2001. En total fueron revisadas 550 historias. Resultados. Teniendo en cuenta la población mayor de 69 años la incidencia global para dicha edad fue de 523,7 fracturas/100.000 habitantes/año. La edad media fue de 84,6 ñ 7 (84,5 ñ 7 para mujeres y 85 ñ 6,8 para varones). El 40,2 por ciento del total cambió su tipo de residencia tras la fractura de cadera. Conclusiones. Al correlacionar diferentes variables se encontró que no hubo diferencias estadísticas entre el tiempo de supervivencia y el tipo de fractura, ni entre el tratamiento y la presencia de complicaciones. Por el contrario sí existió correlación estadística entre la mortalidad y la actividad física previa a la fractura, y el postratamiento y el grado de dependencia previa (AU)

Effect of the fungicide Prochloraz-Mn on the cell wall structure of Verticillium fungicola.

The chemical structure of the cell wall of two isolates of Verticillium fungicolacollected from diseased fruit bodies of the commercial mushroom Agaricus bisporus treated with the fungicide Prochloraz-Mn was analyzed. The isolates were obtained during different periods of time and grown in the absence and presence of the LD(50) values of the fungicide for V. fungicola. In addition, another V. fungicola isolate collected previous to the routine utilization of Prochloraz-Mn but grown under the same conditions was also analyzed. The overall chemical composition of the cell wall from the three isolates showed detectable differences in their basic components, with a significant decrease in the protein content in fungicide-treated cells. This inhibitory effect was partially compensated by an increase in neutral and/or aminated carbohydrates and was accompanied by appreciable modifications of polysaccharide structure, as deduced after methylation analysis and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GLC-MS). Moreover, differences in hyphal morphology caused by the fungicide were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Effect of the fungicide Prochloraz-Mn on the cell wall structure of Verticillium fungicola

The chemical structure of the cell wall of two isolates of Verticillium fungicolacollected from diseased fruit bodies of the commercial mushroom Agaricus bisporus treated with the fungicide Prochloraz-Mn was analyzed. The isolates were obtained during different periods of time and grown in the absence and presence of the LD(50) values of the fungicide for V. fungicola. In addition, another V. fungicola isolate collected previous to the routine utilization of Prochloraz-Mn but grown under the same conditions was also analyzed. The overall chemical composition of the cell wall from the three isolates showed detectable differences in their basic components, with a significant decrease in the protein content in fungicide-treated cells. This inhibitory effect was partially compensated by an increase in neutral and/or aminated carbohydrates and was accompanied by appreciable modifications of polysaccharide structure, as deduced after methylation analysis and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GLC-MS). Moreover, differences in hyphal morphology caused by the fungicide were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (AU)

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On the uniqueness of the surface sources of evoked potentials.

The uniqueness of a surface density of sources localized inside a spatial region R and producing a given electric potential distribution in its boundary B0 is revisited. The situation in which R is filled with various subregions, each one having a definite constant value for the electric conductivity is considered. It is argued that the knowledge of the potential in all B0 fully determines the surface-located sources for a general class of surfaces supporting them and also a wide type of those sources. The class of surfaces can be defined as a union of an arbitrary but finite number of open or closed surfaces. The only restriction upon them is that no one of the closed surfaces contains inside it another (nesting) of the closed or open ones. The types of sources are surface charge densities and double layer (dipolar) densities for the open surfaces and more restrictively, only surface charge densities for the closed ones. A two-dimensional analytically solvable example illustrating the drastic appearance of uniqueness after arbitrarily small holes are opened in nested surfaces is discussed.

Chemical and Structural Differences in Cell Wall Polysaccharides of Two Monokaryotic Strains and Their Resulting Dikaryon of Agaricus bisporus

Compatible monokaryotic strains of Agaricus bisporus ATCC 36975 and 36976 and the resulting dikaryon of their mating were grown in a liquid medium, and their respective cell walls were prepared. Significant differences were not found in the gross chemical composition of the three hyphal types. However, the neutral carbohydrate composition of the complete walls and their fractions was found to be somewhat different in each strain. More consistent differences were encountered in the chemical structure of the distinct polysaccharidic wall fractions in the three types of organisms. Some of these structural wall differences can be considered as characteristic markers for differentiating the mono- and dikaryotic types of A. bisporus.

[Team cohesiveness: opinions of a group of primary health care professionals from Salamanca]. / Cohesión de equipos: opiniones de un grupo de profesionales de atención primaria de Salamanca.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the view of a group of Primary care professionals on their level of perception of group cohesiveness in their teams' work dynamic. DESIGN: A descriptive and sectional study. SETTING: Four urban health centres in Salamanca with a recognised teaching activity. PARTICIPANTS: Both health professionals and those outside the Health Service, working in Primary Care, who had been members of their teams for more than a year (N = 90). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Descriptive statistics and "Chi squared" tests were employed. PARTICIPATION: 72%. A high level of agreement on the need for team work (95.23%). They perceived their group cohesiveness as being very low (84.21% affirmed that they encounter problems of cohesiveness). The main statements concerning this lack of cohesiveness were: "lack of common objectives" (25.5%), "intolerance between workers" (20.13%), "work not shared" (19.46%) and "the taking of decisions individually" (19.44%). The main causes given were: lack of support from Management (23.74%) and too little training for team work (21.58%). CONCLUSIONS: There is a high degree of conviction that the team work model is the most efficacious way of developing Primary Care. However in three of the four teams questioned, there were serious problems preventing the teams' reaching an adequate level of group cohesiveness.

Functionally active protein C inhibitor/plasminogen activator inhibitor-3 (PCI/PAI-3) is secreted in seminal vesicles, occurs at high concentrations in human seminal plasma and complexes with prostate-specific antigen.

Protein C inhibitor (PCI) is a heparin-dependent serpin present in a native form in plasma at concentrations of 5 micrograms/mL. In vitro, PCI inhibits activated protein C (APC), thrombin, plasma kallikrein (KK) and urokinase-(uPA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), and we have shown in vivo inhibition of APC, uPA and KK by PCI. In order to further characterize the physiological role of PCI, we have measured the level of PCI in several biological fluids. PCI antigen was assayed by ELISA and PCI activity was measured by its capability to form complexes with APC in the presence of heparin. Seminal plasma from voluntary donors had PCI levels (160 +/- 20 micrograms/mL, mean +/- SD) about 30 or 40 times higher than those found in blood plasma. Patients under a fertilization program had significantly reduced PCI seminal levels (110 +/- 35 micrograms/mL). Seminal plasma PCI retained about 45% of its activity immediately after ejaculation, and the activity rapidly decreased following incubation of seminal plasma at 37 degrees C, in parallel with the appearance of complexes of PCI with prostate-specific antigen (PSA). PCI was present in seminal vesicle secretion, obtained by autopsy, at concentration similar to that observed in semen, was mostly active and was not inactivated by incubation of secretion at 37 degrees C. The mean functional and antigen levels of PCI in urine from normal donors were 0.58 and 0.25 micrograms/mL, respectively, whereas in saliva these levels were 20 and 0.8 ng/mL, respectively. Amniotic fluid contained PCI antigen levels of 2.1 +/- 0.2 microgram/mL. These results show that PCI is secreted in the seminal vesicles in a functional form, and suggest that PSA, a major secretory component of the prostate, is responsible for its inactivation. They also suggest a physiological role of PCI in reproduction, and show that PCI is present in various biological fluids.

[Importance of cellular homogenization for the posterior isolation of plasma membranes of the Candida utilis yeast]. / Importancia de la homogeneización celular en la obtención posterior de las membranas plasmáticas de la levadura Candida utilis.

Candida utilis plasma membranes were isolated from different homogenized, either whole cells or spheroplasts, by centrifugation and aggregation of mitochondrial and internal membranes at pH 4.0. As judged by electron microscopy, chemical analysis, disc electrophoresis and enzymatic assays, membrane preparations with different degrees of purity were obtained. The purest plasma membranes were those prepared by homogenization of spheroplasts in the Omnimixer Sorvall followed aggregation at mitochondrial isoelectric point as described above.