Effectiveness of early and intensive intervention on suicide prevention: CARS programme.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of the Programme for Management of Suicidal Behaviour and Suicide Prevention (CARS). Individuals treated in the emergency department of University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla for suicidal thoughts or attempts (N = 401) between 1-March-2016 and 31-December-2018 were considered. No randomization by patients or groups was performed. Student's t-test, chi-square and repeated measure analysis of variance were used. Kaplan-Meier survival function and Cox proportional hazard regression models were employed to estimate the risks of relapse. Outcome of those who voluntary enrol CARS were compared with treatment as usual (TAU) at 6- and 12-months follow-up. The results indicate a significant reduction and delayed occurrence of suicidal behaviour over a 12-month follow-up period with the CARS programme compared to TAU, along with a decreased frequency of hospital admissions. CARS programme demonstrates a substantial impact, significantly reducing the risk of recurrent suicidal behaviour by 35.5 % and the risk of repeated suicidal attempts by 47.2 % at the 12-month follow-up. The programme exhibits a dual protective effect, diminishing suicidal behaviour and fostering improved long-term outcomes. In conclusion, CARS effectively reduced suicidal behaviour recurrence, achieving significant decreases in suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts.

Validation of a methodology by LC-MS/MS for the determination of triazine, triazole and organophosphate pesticide residues in biopurification systems.

Biopurification systems are useful in the management of pesticide residues and provide an option to dispose wastewaters of agricultural origin derived from pesticide application practices. The analysis of pesticide residues in the biopurification system biomixture is necessary to determine whether the removal of the target compounds occurs with reliable results. In this study, the pesticide extraction methodology was optimized and validated in a biomixture composed of coconut fiber, compost and soil, to determine a total of 43 molecules, distributed among triazines (10), triazoles (13) and organophosphates (20) using liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. For the validation, the parameters of linearity, matrix effect, limit of determination (LOD), specificity, selectivity, precision, trueness and robustness in the proposed biomixture were evaluated. The analyses of those parameters revealed satisfactory results of the method for most of the compounds, with the exception of diclorvos and ciromazine, for which the development of an alternative method is recommended. Once the extraction methodology was validated, the removal of eight molecules was assayed in a biopurification system used for the simultaneous treatment of a mixture of pesticide commercial formulations. Although most of the compounds were at least partially removed, none of them was eliminated at levels below the LOD. The removal pattern of ametryn, atrazine, chlorpyrifos, malathion and terbutryn was comparable to those obtained in other efficient biomixtures, and the highly recalcitrant triadimenol was eliminated; nonetheless, tebuconazole and diazinon were not significantly removed.

Evaluación de los Niveles de Mercurio en Productos Pesqueros en Costa Rica, Durante 2003-2013, como insumo para recomendar una ingesta semanal tolerable / Evaluation of Mercury Levels in Fishery Products in Costa Rica, During 2003-2013, as an Input to recommend a tolerable weekly intake

ResumenLos peces y mariscos pueden acumular mercurio en sus tejidos. En este trabajo se establecen recomendaciones de consumo de productos pesqueros para los residentes de Costa Rica, a partir de la evaluación de los niveles de mercurio en pescados y mariscos analizados durante los años 2003-2013.Objetivo: Evaluar los niveles de mercurio (en mg/kg) en muestras de productos pesqueros, analizadas por el Laboratorio Nacional de Servicios Veterinarios (LANASEVE) del Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal (SENASA) de Costa Rica, durante el período 2003-2013, para sugerir un valor de Ingesta Semanal Tolerable Recomendada (ISTR) de pescados y mariscos.Materiales y métodos: Los ensayos de mercurio se realizaron, bajo un esquema de análisis de riesgo determinado por el Programa Nacional de Residuos del SENASA, en pescados y mariscos. Las muestras de músculo fueron recolectadas por personal del SENASA y enviadas al LANASEVE para evaluar los niveles de Hg. Las concentraciones de mercurio fueron luego comparadas con los dos valores límite establecidos por la normativa nacional e internacional para productos pesqueros: 1 mg Hg/kg para pescados depredadores y 0,5 mg Hg/kg para otros productos pesqueros.Resultados: Se encontró que aproximadamente el 85 % de las muestras de pescados depredadores cumplió con el valor límite de 1 mg Hg/kg. Por su parte, el 93 % de los otros productos pesqueros evaluados, mostraron niveles de mercurio por debajo de 0,5 mg Hg/kg.Conclusión: Para mujeres embarazadas se establecieron valores de ISTR de 171 g de pescados depredadores o 889 g de otros productos pesqueros, en tanto para niños los ISTR recomendados fueron 100 g de pescados depredadores y 519 g de otros productos pesqueros.

AbstractFish and seafood can accumulate mercury in their tissues. This work establishes fishery products intake recommendations for the residents of Costa Rica, based upon the evaluation of mercury levels on fish and seafood analyzed during years 2003-2013.Objective: To evaluate mercury levels (in mg/kg) in fishery samples, as analyzed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (LANASEVE) of the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) of Costa Rica, during the 2003-2013 period, to suggest a Tolerable Weekly Intake Recommendation (TWIR) for fish and seafood.Methods: Mercury assays were performed, under a risk-analysis scheme determined by the National Residue Program of SENASA, in fish and seafood. Muscle samples were collected by SENASA staff and sent to LANASEVE for evaluation of Hg contents. Mercury concentrations were then compared to two limit values established by national and international regulations for seafood: 1 mg Hg/kg for predatory fish, and 0,5 mg Hg/kg for other fishery products.Results: It was found that, approximately, 85 % of predatory fish samples complied with the 1 mg Hg/kg limit value. Meanwhile, 93 % of the other fishery products analyzed, showed mercury levels below 0,5 mg/kg.Conclusion: For pregnant women TWIR values were established at 171 g for predatory fish and 889 g for other fishery products, while for children the TWIR values were 100 g for predatory fish and 519 g for other fishery products.

Normative data for a six-trial administration of a spanish version of the verbal selective reminding test.

Normative data for 884 neurologically normal adults (15-93) are provided for a six-trial administration of Form 1 of the Spanish version of the Verbal Selective Reminding Test (VSRT). Form 2 was also administered to 391 adults (18-87). Age was the most important predictor of performance on all VSRT scores in Forms 1 and 2. Additionally, women and higher educated participants outperformed men and lower educated participants over the entire age range studied. Normative data are grouped by seven age cohorts: 15-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and 80-95.

Self-reported drug allergies and the diagnostic work-up in the surgical population.

OBJECTIVE: The diagnostic work-up of a drug hypersensitivity reaction is indeed difficult. In general, medical documentation of allergic reactions in medical reports is usually highly deficient or non-existent. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of self-reported drug allergies in the surgical population as well as the criteria used in the diagnosis of drug hypersensitivity reactions. METHODS: A prospective study with the consecutive participation of 1439 patients, following surgical intervention, attended the Post-Operative Care Unit. Previously, as a routine process during the pre-anesthesia consultation, all patients were questioned about whether they had any drug allergies to report and diagnostic work-up. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported drug allergies was 8.3% (119/1439): 3.6% considered themselves allergic to ß-lactams and 2.4% to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Approximately one-third of the subjects (40 out of the 119) had not been subjected to any allergy diagnostic procedure and with 79 (66.4%), the only diagnostic test used by the Allergy Unit had been the skin prick-test. None of those participating in the study had tryptase, methylhistamine, specific IgE or intradermal tests carried out to characterize the diagnosis of the allergic reaction. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that self-reported drug allergies are highly prevalent and as yet little explored. It is an important prevalence which should bring about modifications to the prescription of certain medicaments. The medical personnel must be made aware of the need to make an accurate diagnosis of allergies to medicaments.

The generalized quadratic knapsack problem. A neuronal network approach.

The solution of an optimization problem through the continuous Hopfield network (CHN) is based on some energy or Lyapunov function, which decreases as the system evolves until a local minimum value is attained. A new energy function is proposed in this paper so that any 0-1 linear constrains programming with quadratic objective function can be solved. This problem, denoted as the generalized quadratic knapsack problem (GQKP), includes as particular cases well-known problems such as the traveling salesman problem (TSP) and the quadratic assignment problem (QAP). This new energy function generalizes those proposed by other authors. Through this energy function, any GQKP can be solved with an appropriate parameter setting procedure, which is detailed in this paper. As a particular case, and in order to test this generalized energy function, some computational experiments solving the traveling salesman problem are also included.

Parameter setting of the Hopfield network applied to TSP.

The major drawbacks of the continuous Hopfield network (CHN) model when it is used to solve some combinatorial problems, for instance, the traveling salesman problem (TSP), are the non feasibility of the obtained solutions and the trial-and-error setting values process of the model parameters. In this paper, both drawbacks are avoided by introducing a set of analytical conditions guaranteeing that any equilibrium point of the CHN characterizes a tour for the TSP. In this way, any instance of the TSP can be solved with this parameter setting. Some computational experiences are also included, allowing the solution of instances with sizes of up to 1000 cities.

Voz sobre redes IP una aplicacion practica

La dramatica expansion de Internet asociada a los crecientes requerimientos de comunicacion, ha dado a luz una nueva alternativa para reducir los costos de comunicacion de voz y fax. Actualmente, la implementacion de redes de datos es una practica empresarial muy comun dados los beneficios que las empresas reciben al disponer de estos recursos, pero la vision aun no es muy amplia y por eso, las redes de datos no se explotan en su verdadera dimension. El hecho de poder integrar el servicio de telefonia a traves de la infraestructura de la red de datos, reperesenta un mayor y mas optimo aprovechamiento de este recurso y, de acuerdo a la actividad o alcance geografico de las empresas, puede representar un importante ahorro. Voz sobre IP nos da la posibilidad de hacer de esta integracion una realidad. En el caso particular de la empresa objeto del presente trabajo, se podra evidenciar el ahorro significativo que representa el hecho de montar una red de area extendida y las nuevas posibilidades que le ofrece una adecuada infraestructura de datos para mejorar su situacion de competitividad en el mercado. En sintesis, el presente trabajo tiene por objeto, demostrar que ya es factible para empresas medianas el uso de la tecnologia de Voz sobre IP a un costo muy razonable y con ahorros interesantes, que hacen que el proyecto sea, ademas de tecnologicamente viable, economicamente atractivo.