Liquid biopsy for molecular characterization of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and early assessment of minimal residual disease.

Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) allows genotyping and minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in lymphomas. Using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach (EuroClonality-NDC), we evaluated the clinical and prognostic value of ctDNA in a series of R-CHOP-treated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients at baseline (n = 68) and after two cycles (n = 59), monitored by metabolic imaging (positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography [PET/CT]). A molecular marker was identified in 61/68 (90%) ctDNA samples at diagnosis. Pretreatment high ctDNA levels significantly correlated with elevated lactate dehydrogenase, advanced stage, high-risk International Prognostic Index and a trend to shorter 2-year progression-free survival (PFS). Valuable NGS data after two cycles of treatment were obtained in 44 cases, and 38 achieved major molecular response (MMR; 2.5-log drop in ctDNA). PFS curves displayed statistically significant differences among those achieving MMR versus those not achieving MMR (2-year PFS of 76% vs. 0%, p < 0.001). Similarly, more than 66% reduction in ΔSUVmax by PET/CT identified two subgroups with different prognosis (2-year PFS of 83% vs. 38%; p < 0.001). Combining both approaches MMR and ΔSUVmax reduction, a better stratification was observed (2-year PFS of 84% vs. 17% vs. 0%, p < 0.001). EuroClonality-NDC panel allows the detection of a molecular marker in the ctDNA in 90% of DLBCL. ctDNA reduction at two cycles and its combination with interim PET results improve patient prognosis stratification.

So far but yet so near: Examining the buffering effect of perceived social support on the psychological impact of Spanish lockdown.

The main objective of this study was to examine the moderating or buffering effect of social support (SS) perceived by university students on the psychological impact of lockdown on mental health. Specifically, a total of 826 participants (622 women) completed an online survey that included standardized measures of anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and irritability (Brief Irritability Test), as well as measures of stressors, perceived SS, and self-perceived change in mental health. The results of hierarchical regression analyses suggest that SS contributes toward attenuating the negative impact of academic stressors, general overload, and interpersonal conflict on the indicators of psychological well-being; however, moderation analysis only confirms the buffering effect for symptoms of anxiety. In conclusion, it is suggested that SS networks need to be strengthened as a basic means of protecting health and well-being during unexpected disasters.

Bacterial Dynamics and Their Influence on the Biogeochemical Cycles in a Subtropical Hypereutrophic Lake During the Rainy Season.

Lakes in subtropical regions are highly susceptible to eutrophication due to the heavy rainfall, which causes significant runoff of pollutants (e.g., nutrients) to reach surface waters, altering the water quality and influencing the microbial communities that regulate the biogeochemical cycles within these ecosystems. Lake Cajititlán is a shallow, subtropical, and endorheic lake in western Mexico. Nutrient pollution from agricultural activity and wastewater discharge have affected the lake's water quality, leading the reservoir to a hypereutrophic state, resulting in episodes of fish mortality during the rainy season. This study investigated the temporal dynamics of bacterial communities within Lake Cajititlán and their genes associated with the nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon biogeochemical cycles during the rainy season, as well as the influences of physicochemical and environmental variables on such dynamics. Significant temporal variations were observed in the composition of bacterial communities, of which Flavobacterium and Pseudomonas were the dominant genera. The climatological parameters that were most correlated with the bacterial communities and their functional profiles were pH, DO, ORP, turbidity, TN, EC, NH4 +, and NO3 -. The bacterial communities displayed variations in their functional composition for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur metabolisms during the sampling months. The bacterial communities within the lake are highly susceptible to nutrient loads and low DO levels during the rainy season. Bacterial communities had a higher relative abundance of genes associated with denitrification, nitrogen fixation, assimilatory sulfate reduction, cysteine, SOX system, and all phosphorus metabolic pathways. The results obtained here enrich our understanding of the bidirectional interactions between bacterial communities and major biogeochemical processes in eutrophic subtropical lakes.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services mapping: Can it reconcile urban and protected area planning?

Land-use changes, especially urbanization, have largely impacted the capacity of ecosystems to deliver ecosystem services (ES) on which human wellbeing depends. The current sectorial landscape and territorial planning approaches that separately address protected areas and urban areas have proven ineffective in conserving biodiversity. To address this important challenge, integrated territorial planning has been claimed to be able to better reconcile interests between nature conservation and urban planning, and ES supply and demand mapping may be a useful tool for such purposes. In this study, we quantitatively mapped biodiversity and the supply and demand of eight ES along an urban-rural gradient in the region of Madrid (Spain). Then, we clustered the municipalities in this gradient into four groups based on their common biodiversity and ES supply and demand characteristics. Additionally, we reviewed the urban plans from these municipalities and the management plans of three protected areas, analysed the references to ES in the plans, and searched for potential conflicts between urban and protected area planning aims. We found that municipalities with highly coupled ES supply and demand are in high altitude areas, coinciding with protected areas, while in urban areas, the ES demand exceeds the supply. Municipalities exhibiting a high demand for regulating ES usually include them in their plans, while municipalities with a high supply of regulating ES do not. Given the several conflicts between protected areas and urban planning that we detected, we discuss the utility of mapping biodiversity and ES supply and demand beyond administrative boundaries to overcome the challenge of integrating spatial planning approaches, especially in the context of urban-rural gradients and megacities. We also explore the utility of these methods for coordinating urban planning tools to achieve integrated territorial planning.

The container transport system during Covid-19: An analysis through the prism of complex networks.

This paper analyses the changes on the maritime network before and after the Covid-19 outbreak. Using a large sample of vessel movements between ports, we show a decrease in the global maritime connectivity and significant differences between ports and inter-port links. Furthermore, we find that Covid-19 mitigation measures implemented by governments affected regional port hierarchies differently, with a reduction in port concentration in Europe and Africa and an increase in Asia and North America. Globally, very large ports and small but densely inter-connected ones resisted better to the crisis than the others, while small transshipment hubs and bridges appear to have been more negatively impacted. These findings have implications for the design of more resilient port strategies and transport policies by states and firms.

[Herpes simplex factors: Literature review]. / Factores para herpes simple: Revisión de literatura.

Herpes simplex virus, after the first infection, can remain dormant in the lymph nodes and reactivate at any time due to certain factors and/or stimuli causing effects in the patient. The purpose of this literature review is to update scientific information on the factors that predispose to the reactivation of herpes simplex virus. A comprehensive literature review was conducted in the LILACS, SciELO, PubMed, Scopus and the following keywords were used: herpes simplex, reactivation, latency and risks. A factor is reactivation by immunosuppression due to the intake of immunosuppressants or oncological therapy. Another factor is psychological stress, in which the hormones released act on mediating signs of reactivation. Sun exposure that reactivates the virus in infected neurons and infection in pregnant women can trigger complications in the fetus and delivery.

Comparative Toxicity of Fly Ash: An In Vitro Study.

Fly ash produced during coal combustion is one of the major sources of air and water pollution, but the data on the impact of micrometer-size fly ash particles on human cells is still incomplete. Fly ash samples were collected from several electric power stations in the United States (Rockdale, TX; Dolet Hill, Mansfield, LA; Rockport, IN; Muskogee, OK) and from a metallurgic plant located in the Russian Federation (Chelyabinsk Electro-Metallurgical Works OJSC). The particles were characterized using dynamic light scattering, atomic force, and hyperspectral microscopy. According to chemical composition, the fly ash studied was ferro-alumino-silicate mineral containing substantial quantities of Ca, Mg, and a negligible concentration of K, Na, Mn, and Sr. The toxicity of the fly ash microparticles was assessed in vitro using HeLa cells (human cervical cancer cells) and Jurkat cells (immortalized human T lymphocytes). Incubation of cells with different concentrations of fly ash resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability for all fly ash variants. The most prominent cytotoxic effect in HeLa cells was produced by the ash particles from Rockdale, while the least was produced by the fly ash from Chelyabinsk. In Jurkat cells, the lowest toxicity was observed for fly ash collected from Rockport, Dolet Hill and Muscogee plants. The fly ash from Rockdale and Chelyabinsk induced DNA damage in HeLa cells, as revealed by the single cell electrophoresis, and disrupted the normal nuclear morphology. The interaction of fly ash microparticles of different origins with cells was visualized using dark-field microscopy and hyperspectral imaging. The size of ash particles appeared to be an important determinant of their toxicity, and the smallest fly ash particles from Chelyabinsk turned out to be the most cytotoxic to Jukart cells and the most genotoxic to HeLa cells.

A Study on the Psychological Wound of COVID-19 in University Students.

An increasing number of studies have addressed the psychological impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the general population. Nevertheless, far less is known about the impact on specific populations such as university students, whose psychological vulnerability has been shown in previous research. This study sought to examine different indicators of mental health in university students during the Spanish lockdown; we also analyzed the main sources of stress perceived by students in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and the coping strategies adopted when faced with the situation. Data was collected from 932 students (704 women) through a web-based platform. Measures of anxiety (i.e., GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), irritability, and self-perceived change in mental health were administered, as well as ad hoc measures of stressors and coping strategies. Results indicated that students experienced considerable psychological problems during the confinement, with higher rates of emotional difficulties in women and undergraduate students than in men and postgraduates, respectively. Psychological distress was mainly related to several specific domains of stressors, as perceived by the participants: academic future, task overload, worsening of interpersonal conflicts, and restrictions in pleasant social contact; and far less related to the spread of the disease and its consequences for physical health. As regards coping strategies, both reframing skills and daily routines were shown to be the most effective. A path-analysis model integrating stressors, coping, and mental health revealed that coping strategies partially mediated the effect of stressors on psychological health. In general, results suggest that students' psychological health was substantially affected by the COVID-19 situation and that the academic and relational changes were the most notable sources of stress. This study reinforces the need to monitor and promote mental health in university students to boost resilience in times of crisis. Our results on effective coping strategies may inform preventive programs aimed at helping students to deal with challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Predicting non-deposition sediment transport in sewer pipes using Random forest.

Sediment transport in sewers has been extensively studied in the past. This paper aims to propose a new method for predicting the self-cleansing velocity required to avoid permanent deposition of material in sewer pipes. The new Random Forest (RF) based model was implemented using experimental data collected from the literature. The accuracy of the developed model was evaluated and compared with ten promising literature models using multiple observed datasets. The results obtained demonstrate that the RF model is able to make predictions with high accuracy for the whole dataset used. These predictions clearly outperform predictions made by other models, especially for the case of non-deposition with deposited bed criterion that is used for designing large sewer pipes. The volumetric sediment concentration was identified as the most important parameter for predicting self-cleansing velocity.

Non-deposition self-cleansing models for large sewer pipes.

Multiple models from the literature and experimental datasets have been developed and collected to predict sediment transport in sewers. However, all these models were developed for smaller sewer pipes, i.e. using experimental data collected on pipes with diameters smaller than 500 mm. To address this issue, new experimental data were collected on a larger, 595 mm pipe located in a laboratory at the University of los Andes. Two new self-cleansing models were developed using this dataset. Both models predict the sewer self-cleansing velocity for the cases of non-deposition with and without deposited bed. The newly developed and existing models were then evaluated and compared on the basis of the most recently collected and previously published datasets. Models were compared in terms of prediction accuracy measured by the root mean squared error and mean absolute percentage error. The results obtained show that in the existing literature, self-cleansing models tend to be overfitted, i.e. have a rather high prediction accuracy when applied to the data collected by the authors, but this accuracy deteriorates quickly when applied to the datasets collected by other authors. The newly developed models can be used for designing both small and large sewer pipes with and without deposited bed condition.

Assessment of the water quality of a subtropical lake using the NSF-WQI and a newly proposed ecosystem specific water quality index.

A Water Quality Index (WQI) is a formulation that enables the estimation of the overall quality of a water body based on significant parameters. One example of this is the well-known and widely accepted NSF-WQI, which is frequently used to assess chemical, physical, and microbiologic features of waterbodies in temperate latitudes. In this work, a well-structured method, completely based on multivariate statistical methods and historical data distributions, was used to develop an ecosystem specific water quality index (ES-WQI). Lake Cajititlán, a subtropical Mexican lake located in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, was selected as a case of study because it is an endorheic shallow lake that shows signs of high levels of eutrophication due to anthropogenic contamination. As a result of the contamination, and its sensibility to changes in the water level, it undergoes important changes in its water features, such as turbidity and intense green color, and experiences massive events of fish mortality. The proposed ES-WQI describes the changes in water quality over the year well and correlates with the capability of the lake to support aquatic life, as the lowest estimated values coincide with the biggest events of massive fish mortality in the lake. Furthermore, the ES-WQI clearly differentiates between typical cyclic behaviors and actual deteriorating trends and is capable of tracking incremental changes all over the range of the possible concentration values of the water quality parameters.

Multivariate water quality analysis of Lake Cajititlán, Mexico.

Lake Cajititlán is a shallow body of water located in an endorheic basin in western Mexico. This lake receives excess fertilizer runoff from agriculture and approximately 2.3 Hm3 per year of poorly treated wastewater from three municipal treatment plants. Thirteen water quality parameters were monitored at five sampling points within the lake over 9 years. The objective of this work was to characterize the spatial and temporal variations of the water quality and to identify the sources of data variability in order to assess the influence and the impact of different natural and anthropogenic processes. One-way ANOVA tests, principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA), and discriminant analysis (DA) were implemented. The one-way ANOVA showed that biochemical oxygen demand and pH present statistically significant spatial variations and that alkalinity, total chloride, conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, total hardness, ammonia, pH, total dissolved solids, and temperature present statistically significant temporal variations. PCA results explained both natural and anthropogenic processes and their relationship with water quality data. The CA results suggested there is no significant spatial variation in the water quality of the lake because of lake mixing caused by wind. The most significant parameters for spatial variations were pH, NO3-, and NO2-, consistent with the configuration of point and nonpoint sources that affect the lake's water quality. The temporal DA results suggested that conductivity, hardness, NO2-, pH, and temperature were the most significant parameters to discriminate between seasons. The temporal behavior of these parameters was associated with the transport pathways of seasonal contaminants.

A Cluster of Cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in an Area Of Colombia Not Known to be Endemic for This Disease.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) has been reported in Colombia since 1937. Most recent outbreaks were in 2006-2008, followed by the absence of recognized cases. This report describes new clinical cases of RMSF and epidemiologic investigations. Medical records were reviewed, and fieldwork, serological and molecular diagnostic testing, and bacterial isolation were performed. Fever, hypotension, abdominal discomfort, and rash accompanied by thrombocytopenia and leukopenia were the most characteristic manifestations. Two convalescent sera from the index case and sera from two dogs revealed high anti-spotted fever group Rickettsia antibody titers. Rickettsia rickettsii was isolated from case 4. Cases 2 and 3 were identified by epidemiological connection with the index case. Thus, a new cluster of cases of RMSF was identified in Antioquia, Colombia, with the occurrence of fatal cases, which indicates the active circulation of the bacteria and a potential risk for the population.

Criterios de selección de marca comercial de implantes dentales más usados por especialistas / Brand selection criteria for specialists most used dental implants

RESUMEN: Objetivo: Determinar los criterios de selección más usados al elegir una marca comercial de implantes dentales según odontólogos especialistas. Material y método: Se identificaron los parámetros para escoger una marca de implantes, estos se clasificaron en técnicos y mercadológicos, ordenándose en un cuestionario de tipo cerrado, valorándose por medio de escala psicométrica Likert del 1 al 5, además se incluyó una pregunta abierta. Se tomó una muestra por conveniencia de veinte odontólogos especialistas con experiencia al menos en tres marcas de implantes. Para el análisis estadístico descriptivo se usó Microsoft Excel 2011 versión para Mac, utilizando medidas de tendencia central como la Media Aritmética y Moda. Los parámetros técnicos se clasificaron de 1a hasta 1i, mercadológicos del 2a hasta el 2f y los sugeridos de p1 a p7. Resultados: La variabilidad en pilares de retención protésica, disponibilidad adecuada de los productos ofertados por la empresa y la compatibilidad de los aditamentos entre marcas comerciales, fueron los factores más relevantes considerados por especialistas a la hora de elegir un determinado sistema de implante. Conclusión: Las razones que más influyen en la elección de un sistema de implante son la variedad y disponibilidad de productos junto a la compatibilidad entre marcas.

ABSTRACT: Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the most used selection criteria when choosing a commercial brand of dental implant according to specialist. Material and methods: We identified the parameters to choose an implant brand, these were classified as technical and marketing, ordered in a closed questionnaire, assessed by means of a Likert psychometric scale from 1 to 5, plus an open question was included. A convenience sample of twenty specialists with experience in at least three implant brands. For the descriptive statistical analysis, Microsoft Excel 2011 version for Mac was used, using measures of central tendency such as Arithmetic Media and Fashion. For this same purpose, the technical parameters were classified from 1a to 1i, marketing parameters from 2a to 2f and suggested parameters from p1 to p7. Results: The variability in prosthetic retention pillars, adequate availability of the products offered by the company and the compatibility of the abutments between trademarks, were the most relevant factors considered by specialists when choosing a specific implant system. Conclusion: The arguments that most influence the choice of an implant system are variety and availability of products, as well as the compatibility between brands.

[Prognostic value of the presence of pericolic air bubbles detected by computed tomography in acute diverticulitis]. / Valor pronóstico de la presencia de burbujas de aire libre pericólico detectadas por tomografía computada en diverticulitis aguda.

BACKGROUND: Diverticular disease is common in industrialized countries. Computed tomography has been used as the preferred diagnostic method; although different scales haves been described to classify the disease, none of them encompass total disease aspects and behaviour. OBJETIVE: To analyze the patients with acute diverticulitis confirmed by computed tomography at the ABC Medical Center Campus Observatorio from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012, in whom pericolic free air in the form of bubbles was identified by computed tomography and if this finding can be considered as a prognostic factor for the disease. METHODS: A series of 124 patients was analyzed who had acute diverticulitis confirmed by computed tomography, in order to identify the presence of pericolic bubbles. RESULTS: Of the 124 patients, 29 presented with pericolic bubbles detected by computed tomography; of these, 62.1% had localized peritoneal signs at the time of the initial assessment, (P<.001); leukocytosis (13.33 vs 11.16, P<.001) and band count (0.97 vs 0.48, P<.001) was higher in this group. Patients with pericolonic bubbles had a longer hospital stay (5.5days vs 4.3days, P<.001) and started and tolerated liquids later (4.24days vs. 3.02days, P<.001) than the group of patients without this finding. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of pericolic bubbles in patients with acute diverticulitis can be related to a more aggressive course of the disease.

[Modification to stapled mucosectomy technique with PPH. Experience of a surgical group]. / Modificación a la técnica de mucosectomía con engrapadora PPH. Experiencia de un grupo quirúrgico.

BACKGROUND: Haemorrhoidal disease is a common disorder. Surgical treatment is indicated in cases of advanced disease. However, postoperative pain, operative time, and technical difficulties have prompted the search for new procedures and improve the existing ones. A modification is proposed to the technique of PPH (Procedure for Prolapse and Haemorrhoids) stapled haemorrhoidectomy that facilitates and standardises the procedure without altering its benefits. OBJECTIVE: To describe the postoperative results and short-term evolution of patients with internal haemorrhoidal disease, who underwent stapled mucosectomy with PPH with a modified technique. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective review of 35 patients who underwent stapled haemorrhoidectomy with a modified technique by the same surgical team. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were men (71%) and 10 women (29%). Sixteen patients had grade III internal haemorrhoid disease (46%) and 19 grade IV (54%). The mean operative time was 31 minutes. Six patients had acute urinary retention. There were no cases of severe pain, bleeding, haematoma, stenosis, incontinence, thrombosis, or re-operation. The median hospital stay was 1 day. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed modification of PPH haemorrhoidectomy is performed with greater technical ease without increased morbidity, preserving the advantages of the original technique.

Factors influencing local ecological knowledge maintenance in Mediterranean watersheds: Insights for environmental policies.

Local ecological knowledge (LEK) has been found to be one of the main bridges to manage biocultural diversity. We analyzed the factors affecting LEK maintenance and transmission in a Mediterranean watershed. We used a mixed methods approach to evaluate the agricultural LEK in three different dimensions: biological, soil and water management, and forecasting. We found that the main factors for its maintenance were the respondent's time living in the area and the social relationships established among farmers, which involved partner collaboration and farmer information exchanges. Protected areas also played a key role for maintaining the LEK associated with soil and water management. Finally, we found that outmigration and mechanization were the most important indirect drivers of change underlying LEK erosion. We suggest that environmental policies should focus on promoting this experiential knowledge, considering both intergenerational renewal and the gendered aspects of this knowledge.

Cariogenicidad de desayunos institucionalizados y CPO/D- ceo/d en escolares expuestos y no expuestos al programa preventivo escolar en el periodo 2015 / Cariogenicity of institutionalized breakfasts and CPO / D-ceo / d in schoolchildren exposed and not exposed to the school preventive program in the period 2015

Objetivo: Comparar la Cariogenicidad de desayunos institucionalizados y CPO/D-ceo/d en escolares expuestos y no expuestos al Programa Preventivo Escolar (PPE) en el periodo 2015. Metodología: El diseño corresponde a un estudio observacional, descriptivo, de corte transversal, que comparó escolares expuestos y no expuestos al PPE. La población fue de 450 escolares, de 12 centros educativos del área metropolitana de San Salvador, con edades entre 8 y 10 años; durante el periodo de junio a julio de 2015. Las principales variables estudiadas fueron la Cariogenicidad de los desayunos escolares según los criterios modificados de Vipelhom, el CPO-D/ceo-d con base a criterios ICDAS y el nivel de conocimiento sobre los alimentos cariogénicos de los encargados en su preparación. Para la recolección de datos se utilizó una cédula de entrevista, una ficha bucoepidemiológica y un diario de ingesta de alimentos. Y fueron procesados en el Programa SPSS Versión 18 y en S-DENT, como prueba estadística se empleó T de Student como medida de asociación. Resultados: Los alimentos del grupo 2 y 3, según la escala modificada de Vipelhom son los más consumidos por ambos grupos; los del grupo 2 con un 46.84% en escolares no expuestos y el 49% en los escolares expuestos y de los del grupo 3 con un 41.57% en escolares no expuestos y el 40% en los escolares expuestos. El promedio de índice CPO-D/ceo-d en escolares no expuestos y expuestos al PPE, fue de 7.7 y de 6.9, respectivamente. No encontrándose una diferencia significativa entre ambos grupos (p=0.29). Los alimentos líquidos azucarados no adhesivos, son los más consumidos entre ambos grupos, con un 47.95%. La prevalencia de caries dental, en los escolares expuestos al PPE es de 91.80% y del 91.75% en los escolares no expuestos, solo el 8.22% de la población en estudio está libre de caries. Conclusiones: Los resultados obtenidos, demuestran que no existe una diferencia significativa en el CPO-D/ceo-d en base a criterios ICDAS en escolares expuestos y no expuestos al PPE y beneficiados con los desayunos escolares. Los desayunos institucionalizados ingeridos por los escolares expuestos y no expuestos al PPE según su Cariogenicidad corresponden a los alimentos del grupo 2 y 3. La prevalencia de caries dental en ambos grupos es elevada (91.78%), solo una poca población está libre de caries con (8.22%). El nivel de conocimiento que presentan los encargados de preparar los desayunos a los escolares expuestos y no expuestos al PPE está en un nivel MEDIO (66.66%).

Objective: Compare between the cariogenicity of primary school meals and the CPO/D-ceo/d in students exposed and not exposed to Preventive School Program (PSP) in 2015. Methodology: The design corresponds to an observational descriptive crosssectional study that compared exposed and not exposed students to PPE. The population was 450 students between 8 and 10 years old among 12 primary schools in the metropolitan area in San Salvador between June and July 2015. The principal variable studied was the cariogenicity of primary schools meals according to the VIPELHOM's modified criteria, the CPO-D/ceo-d based on criteria ICDAS and the level of knowledge of people who prepared the cariogenic food. For the data collection, it was necessary an interview, a medical register and a diary of food ingest. All this information was processed in SPSS program version 18 and S-DENT as a statistic test was used T from Student like association media. Results: According with scale of VIPELHOM the meals from the group 2 and 3 are the most consumed from both groups, the group two with 46. 84 % in students not exposed and the 49% in students exposed. The group three with a 41.57% in students not exposed and the 4O% in students exposed. The average index CPO-D/ceo-d in students exposed and not exposed to PPE was 7.7 and 6.9 as a consequence. An important difference wasn't found between both groups (p=0.29) the liquid sugar non adhesive (beverages) are the most popular between both groups with a 47.95%. The currency of cavities in students exposed to PPE is about 91.80% and 91.75 % in students not exposed and only the 8.22% of the population in this study was free from cavities. Conclusions: the results obtained show that there isn't an important difference in the CPO-D/ceo-d based on ICDAS criteria in students exposed and not exposed to PPE holder with the school meals. The ingest of institutionalized school meals for students exposed and not exposed to PPE according with the cariogenicity correspond to food from the group 2 and 3. The prevalence of cavities in both groups is high (91.78) only a minimal part of the population is free from cavities with (8.22%) the level of knowledge shown by the people in charge of the preparation of this school meals for students exposed and not exposed to PPE are in a middle level (66.66).

Optimization of radiation doses received by personnel in PET uptake rooms.

Reduction of dose to exposed personnel during positron emission tomography (PET) installation usually relies on physical shielding. While the major contribution of shielding is unquestioned, it is usually the only method applied. Other methods of reduction, such as working procedure optimization, the position of the furniture, and rooms are usually disregarded in these installations. This paper presents a design and work optimization procedure used in a particular institution. The influence on the dose received by personnel due to the positioning of injection chairs, injection room configuration, and working procedures is studied. Using this optimization strategy, it is possible to reduce the technician dose due to patients by a factor of 0.59. Injection room design is much more important for optimizing the received dose than is work-flow management. The influence of the order of patient entrance on received dose was the aspect that produced the smallest variation in received doses. It is recommended that the optimization be carried out for the installation proposed in the design phase, when no additional cost is required, because the position of the doors of the injection rooms depends on the where the injection chairs are situated.

Crecimiento bacteriano de Streptococcus mutans frente a la cetirizina y prednisona con y sin sacarosa: estudio in vitro / Bacterial growth of Streptococcus mutans exposed to cetirizine and prednisone with and without sucrose: in vitro study

Objetivos: Comparar el crecimiento de Streptococus mutans antes y después de la aplicación de cetirizina y prednisona con y sin sacarosa a las 6, 12, 24 y 36 horas. Métodos: Diseño experimental, para ello se utilizó una muestra de 84 tubos de ensayo, 6 tubos por cada una de las medicinas o controles utilizados. Las variables que se consideraron fueron medicinas pediátricas con edulcorantes divididas en dos grupos: cetirizinas y prednisonas. En el grupo de las cetirizinas se consideraron las cetirizinas comerciales Hisaler®, Lergium® y Rigotax®, así como los preparados de cetirizina con xilitol, sacarosa y aspartame. En el grupo de las prednisonas se consideraron las prednisonas comerciales: Cortiprex® y Nisona® así como los preparados de prednisona con sacarosa y otros edulcorantes. La técnica que se empleó fue la de turbimetría la cual nos da el indicador absorvancia. Resultados: los resultados fueron leídos a las 6, 12, 24 y 36 horas. Conclusiones: Las medicinas comerciales que presentaron menor crecimiento de Streptococcus mutans fueron Rigotax® y Nisona®. Los preparados que presentaron menor crecimiento de Streptoccoccus mutans fueron cetirizina con aspartame y prednisona con edulcorante. Las medicinas comerciales presentaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas con sus respectivos preparados, produciéndose menor crecimiento de Streptococcus mutans en las medicinas comerciales.

Objetives: To compare the growth of Streptococcus mutans, before and after the application of cetirizine and prednisone with and without sucrose at 6, 12, 24 and 36 hours. Methods: The type of study was experimental. To carry it on, a sample of 84 test tubes was used, 6 tubes for each of the medications or controls. The variables considered were pediatric medication with sweeteners, divided in two groups: cetirizines and prednisones. In the cetirizines groups, those over the counter were: Hisaler®, Lergium® and Rigotax®; those that in their formulas included cetirizine with xylitol, sucrose, and aspartame. In the prednisone groups, which are over the counter, the following were found: Cortiprex® and Nisona®, as well as those that in their formulas included prednisone with saccarose and other sweeteners. The method used was turbimetry with the spectrophotometer, to meassure: absorbency. Results: The results were read at 6, 12, 24 and 36 hours. Conclusions: The commercial medications that showed less growth of the Streptococcus mutans, were Rigotax® and Nisona®. The preparation that showed less growth of the Streptococcus mutans were cetirizine with aspartame and prednisone with sorbitol. Over the counter medications showed significant statistical differences with their respective preparation, producing less growth of the Streptococcus mutans in over the counter medications.