Anàlisi del grau de coneixement d'aspectes relacionats amb l'activitat física i la salut que tenen les dones de 30 a 45 anys de Vallromanes

L’objectiu de l’estudi és identificar el grau de coneixement que tenen les dones de 30 a 45 anys del municipi de Vallromanes sobre aspectes relacionats amb l’activitat física i la salut, així com identificar quins coneixements són més específics perquè s’adhereixin a la pràctica regular d’activitat física. A més, de comprovar quins d’aquests possibles coneixements relacionats a la promoció de la salut pública són més eficients per fer augmentar el coneixement d’aquest grup de dones i alhora fer-les conscients de la importància de l’activitat física per la salut. Així doncs, a la mostra de l’estudi han participat 35 dones. La informació ha estat recopilada a través del qüestionari per identificar els estadis de canvi de l’activitat física (Marcus, Rossi, Selby, Niaura, i Abrams, 1992) i un qüestionari elaborat específicament per aquesta investigació. Els resultats obtinguts demostren, a trets generals, que les dones que es troben en estadis de canvi on tenen conductes actives físicament o compleixen amb les recomanacions mundials d’activitat física per la salut, tenen un major grau de coneixença i conscienciació sobre coneixements relacionats amb l’activitat física i la salut. Per tant, això porta a concloure que l’augment del coneixement i conscienciació d’aquest és un motiu perquè les dones participants en l’estudi s’adhereixin a la pràctica regular d’activitat física. No obstant, cal tenir present quines estratègies de salut pública són més específiques i eficients per fer augmentar el coneixement del grup de dones estudiat i adherir-les a la pràctica.

Diseño de instalaciones logísticas a través de la simulación

En una época como la actual en la que la continua apertura del mercado obliga a ser competitivos frente a nuevas empresas que se adaptan a los gustos y necesidades de los clientes, la empresa de bolígrafos realiza la gestión de su almacén de la misma forma que en sus inicios, hace ya 45 años. Por este motivo, se hace necesaria una adaptación de los sistemas actuales para responder a las características del mercado. Para alcanzar este objetivo se empleará la técnica de simulación por ordenador para evaluar las estrategias de mejora sin perturbar el funcionamiento del sistema existente, además de evaluar hipótesis sobre cómo y por qué aparecen ciertos fenómenos en el sistema.

Civil conflict and human capital accumulation: The long-term effects of political violence in Perú

This paper provides empirical evidence of the persistent effect of exposure to political violence on humancapital accumulation. I exploit the variation in conflict location and birth cohorts to identify the longandshort-term effects of the civil war on educational attainment. Conditional on being exposed toviolence, the average person accumulates 0.31 less years of education as an adult. In the short-term,the effects are stronger than in the long-run; these results hold when comparing children within thesame household. Further, exposure to violence during early childhood leads to permanent losses. I alsoexplore the potential causal mechanisms.

Epistemología y cibernética

Si el observador y el observado forman parte del mismo objeto descrito, la convergencia entre el sujeto cognoscente y el objeto por conocer no puede sustraerse del principio de reflexividad, que propicia una mejor y más profunda solidez del corpus científico generado. La superioridad del principio de reflexividad se fundamenta en la naturaleza autorreferente de los sistemas sociales, esto es, en la capacidad que desarrollan los sistemas para tomar conciencia de sí y delimitarse respecto a un entorno o ambiente. A través de tal delimitación los sistemas acceden a la autoobservación, sin ella los sistemas no son capaces de generar todos los componentes que precisan para sus operaciones, esto es, no son capaces de llevar a cabo sus procesos autopoiéticos.

Traumatic bone cyst: a retrospective study of 21 cases

Objective: To describe the clinical and radiological characteristics, and surgical findings of traumatic bone cysts. Study Design: A retrospective observational study was made of 21 traumatic bone cysts. The diagnosis was based on the anamnesis, clinical examination, and complementary tests. Panoramic and periapical X-rays were obtained in all cases, together with computed tomography as decided by the surgeon. A descriptive statistical analysis was made of the study variables using the SPSS v12.0 for Windows. Results: There was a clear female predominance (14:7). The mean age was 26.5 years (range 8-45 years). The cysts in all cases constituted casual findings during routine radiological exploration. In those cases where computed tomographic images were available, preservation of the vestibular and lingual cortical layers was observed. Five of the 21 patients (23.8%) reported a clear antecedent of traumatism in the affected zone. All the lesions were subjected to surgery, and the cavities were found to be vacant in 90.5% of the cases. In only two patients were vascular contents seen within the cavity. Two of the patients presented postoperative paresthesia of the inferior dental nerve that subsided within two weeks. The 19 patients in whom adequate postoperative follow-up proved possible all showed complete bone healing. Conclusions: Traumatic bone cysts were a casual finding. During the surgery, most cases showed to be vacant cavity without an ephitelial lining. Careful curettage of the lesion favors progressive bone regeneration, offering a good prognosis and an almost negligible relapse rate. Other treatment options only would be justified in cases of relapse.

Efectos del alcohol y conducción de vehículos: creencias y conductas de los jóvenes

Traffic accidents are one of the causes of death for people between 1 and 45 years old. Many studies verify that the road accidents are related with the consumption of alcohol. This problem, is especially important in the young people and it is increased during dawns of the weekends. Some studies underline the lack of information and knowledge of many young people concerning law on alcohol consummation when driving and the effects of this drug on consumers. Another problem is the amount of mistaken beliefs on what to do neutralize the alcohol’s effect before drive. The objective of our study is to evaluate, in university students, the knowledge of the rules of driving behavior included in the circulation code and the personal beliefs about the effects of the alcohol in driving, and to find the frequency and the circumstances in which young people drive after alcohol consummation. The results suggest many actions that may be considered in the design of preventive campaigns that promotes safety road behavior in order to increase their effectivity

Visual impairment and multimorbidity in a representative sample of the Spanish population

BACKGROUND: In the context of population aging, visual impairment has emerged as a growing concern in public health. However, there is a need for further research into the relationship between visual impairment and chronic medical conditions in the elderly. The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between visual impairment and three main types of co-morbidity: chronic physical conditions (both at an independent and additive level), mental health and cognitive functioning. METHODS: Data were collected from the COURAGE in Europe project, a cross-sectional study. A total of 4,583 participants from Spain were included. Diagnosis of chronic medical conditions included self-reported medical diagnosis and symptomatic algorithms. Depression and anxiety were assessed using CIDI algorithms. Visual assessment included objective distance/near visual acuity and subjective visual performance. Descriptive analyses included the whole sample (n = 4,583). Statistical analyses included participants aged over 50 years (n = 3,625; mean age = 66.45 years) since they have a significant prevalence of chronic conditions and visual impairment. Crude and adjusted binary logistic regressions were performed to identify independent associations between visual impairment and chronic medical conditions, physical multimorbidity and mental conditions. Covariates included age, gender, marital status, education level, employment status and urbanicity. RESULTS: The number of chronic physical conditions was found to be associated with poorer results in both distance and near visual acuity [OR 1.75 (CI 1.38-2.23); OR 1.69 (CI 1.27-2.24)]. At an independent level, arthritis, stroke and diabetes were associated with poorer distance visual acuity results after adjusting for covariates [OR 1.79 (CI 1.46-2.21); OR 1.59 (CI 1.05-2.42); OR 1.27 (1.01-1.60)]. Only stroke was associated with near visual impairment [OR 3.01 (CI 1.86-4.87)]. With regard to mental health, poor subjective visual acuity was associated with depression [OR 1.61 (CI 1.14-2.27); OR 1.48 (CI 1.03-2.13)]. Both objective and subjective poor distance and near visual acuity were associated with worse cognitive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Arthritis, stroke and the co-occurrence of various chronic physical diseases are associated with higher prevalence of visual impairment. Visual impairment is associated with higher prevalence of depression and poorer cognitive function results. There is a need to implement patient-centered care involving special visual assessment in these cases.

Productivity growth and competition in Spanish manufacturing firms: What has happened in recent years?

This paper addresses the issue of the relationship between productivity and market competition. In comparison to the economies of other European countries, the Spanish economy has been growing, while productivity growth has stagnated. Here we provide empirical evidence about the relationship between productivity and market competition from Spanish manufacturing firms at firm level between 1994 and 2004. Correcting for selection bias, our study pays special attention to the patterns of productivity growth between openness and non-openness firms. When market competition increases the effect on firms operating in domestic markets is positive but when the level of competition is high incentives to invest in innovation and productivity gains disappear. The empirical relationship between competition and productivity is an inverted U-shape, where productivity growth is highest at intermediate levels of competition. The productivity growth of firms operating in international markets is higher than that of non-openness firms, but when market competition rises they moderate their productivity growth. Our empirical results suggest that the correct competition policy in the Spanish economy should remove the barriers to competition in internal markets in order to increase the incentives for manufacturing firms to invest in innovation and productivity growth.

Predictive factors in the long term outcome in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: six years follow up of 107 patients

There is little information concerning the long term outcome of patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). Thus 109 patients with reflux symptoms (33 with erosive oesophagitis) with a diagnosis of GORD after clinical evaluation and oesophageal testing were studied. All patients were treated with a stepwise approach: (a) lifestyle changes were suggested aimed at reducing reflux and antacids and the prokinetic agent domperidone were prescribed; (b) H2 blockers were added after two months when symptoms persisted; (c) anti-reflux surgery was indicated when there was no response to (b). Treatment was adjusted to maintain clinical remission during follow up. Long term treatment need was defined as minor when conservative measures sufficed for proper control, and as major if daily H2 blockers or surgery were required. The results showed that one third of the patients each had initial therapeutic need (a), (b), and (c). Of 103 patients available for follow up at three years and 89 at six years, respective therapeutic needs were minor in 52% and 55% and major in 48% and 45%. Eighty per cent of patients in (a), 67% in (b), and 17% in (c) required only conservative measures at six years. A decreasing lower oesophageal sphincter pressure (p < 0.001), radiological reflux (p = 0.028), and erosive oesophagitis (p = 0.031), but not initial clinical scores, were independent predictors of major therapeutic need as shown by multivariate analysis. The long term outcome of GORD is better than previously perceived.

Predictive factors in the long term outcome in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: six years follow up of 107 patients

There is little information concerning the long term outcome of patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). Thus 109 patients with reflux symptoms (33 with erosive oesophagitis) with a diagnosis of GORD after clinical evaluation and oesophageal testing were studied. All patients were treated with a stepwise approach: (a) lifestyle changes were suggested aimed at reducing reflux and antacids and the prokinetic agent domperidone were prescribed; (b) H2 blockers were added after two months when symptoms persisted; (c) anti-reflux surgery was indicated when there was no response to (b). Treatment was adjusted to maintain clinical remission during follow up. Long term treatment need was defined as minor when conservative measures sufficed for proper control, and as major if daily H2 blockers or surgery were required. The results showed that one third of the patients each had initial therapeutic need (a), (b), and (c). Of 103 patients available for follow up at three years and 89 at six years, respective therapeutic needs were minor in 52% and 55% and major in 48% and 45%. Eighty per cent of patients in (a), 67% in (b), and 17% in (c) required only conservative measures at six years. A decreasing lower oesophageal sphincter pressure (p < 0.001), radiological reflux (p = 0.028), and erosive oesophagitis (p = 0.031), but not initial clinical scores, were independent predictors of major therapeutic need as shown by multivariate analysis. The long term outcome of GORD is better than previously perceived.

Quality of life, happiness and satisfaction with life of individuals 75 years old or older cared for by a home health care program

This case study identifies the elements that compose the Quality of Life (QofL) of individuals who were 75 years old or older and receive care at home. The study's sample was composed of individuals 75 years or older cared for by a home health care service in the primary health care unit in Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain (n=26). The variables included: a) socio-demographic data; b) concept of QofL; c) perception of QofL; d) reasons for their perception; d) satisfaction with life and related aspects; and f) feeling of happiness. Face to face interviews were conducted. A total of 76.9% of the individuals reported a good perception of QofL and the main reasons related to it were: health, family and social relationships, and the ability to adapt. Role Theory and Disengagement Theory explain the adaptation process of these individuals at this point in life.

Prevalencia de la infección tuberculosa y por el VIH en los usuarios de un programa de reducción de riesgos para usuarios de drogas por vía parenteral (UDVP)

FUNDAMENTO: Determinar la prevalencia de la infección tuberculosa y por el VIH, así como los factores asociados, en la población de usuarios del programa de reducción de riesgos de la ciudad de Lleida. MÉTODOS: La muestra la formaron los nuevos usuarios del programa en el período abril-junio de 1996, entre los los cuales se realizó un cuestionario para la recogida de datos de las variables: edad, sexo, resultado de la prueba de la tuberculina, vacunación BCG, conocimiento de la serología frente al VIH, ingreso en prisión y años de consumo de heroína. Se calculó la prevalencia de la infección tuberculosa y por el VIH, con el intervalo de confianza (IC) del 95%. La asociación de ambas variables con el resto de variables del estudio se determinó mediante la odds ratio (OR) y su IC del 95% . RESULTADOS: Acudieron 150 pacientes diferentes, de los cuales 45 eran nuevos usuarios. De ellos, el 80,0% eran varones, con una edad media de 31,1 años. La prevalencia de la coinfección fue del 8,9% (IC 95% 2,8-22,1). La prevalencia de la infección tuberculosa fue de 27,3% (IC 95% 12,4-43,0), siendo superior en los que tenían antecedentes de ingreso en prisión (OR=3,4; IC 95% 0,5-27,4). La prevalencia de la infección por el VIH fue del 36,1% (IC 95% 21,3-53,8), siendo superior en los que tenían una antigüedad, en el consumo de heroína, superior a los 11 años ( OR = 7,3; IC 95% 1,0-65,9). CONCLUSIONES: El antecedente de ingreso en prisión es el principal factor de riesgo de la infección tuberculosa. Los años de consumo se asocian con la infección por el VIH, especialmente a partir de los 11 años. Los programas de reducción de riesgos de nuestro país deberían realizar actividades de control de la infección tuberculosa y por VIH.