Quality of life in the elderly: Psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-OLD module in Mexico

The purpose was to examine and compare the psychometric properties of a Mexican Spanish version of the WHOQOL-OLD module. The instrument was applied to 285 individuals aged over 60 years (mean = 69.26, SD = 6.52). All participants completed a demographic data sheet, the WHOQOL-OLD, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS);182 of the 285 participants also completed a quality of life questionnaire for diabetic patients (DQOL). Acceptable levels of reliability were found, with Cronbach’s alpha values between 0.70 and 0.90 for overall quality of life and all domains except for autonomy, where the alpha value was low. The exploratory factor analysis carried out to examine the construct validity of the instrument yielded six domains: sensory abilities, autonomy, past/present/future activities, social participation, death and dying, and intimacy (explained variance of 62.95%). The mean overall quality of life score was 94.86 (SD = 13.68, range 50 to 120). The WHOQOL-OLD module showed criterion validity and concurrent validity with respect to the BDI (r = -0.516, p = 0.034), the GDS (r = -0.336, p = 0.002), and the DQOL (n = 182, r = 0.159, p = 0.032). Discriminant validity was also confirmed with respect to self-perceived health (t = 2.701, d.f. = 225, p = 0.007) and education (F(3, 280) = 9.015, p p > 0.05). We conclude that the Mexican Spanish version of the WHOQOL-OLD module has adequate psychometric properties.

Knowledge of Morphine Administration by Ambulance Paramedics: A Comparison of Two Clinical Levels of Paramedics

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify any differences in adherence to morphine administration protocols between two clinical levels of paramedics within one emergency medical system in Australia. Methods: The participants were made up of 63 Advanced Care Paramedics (ACPs) who were trained in basic and intermediate life support and 45 Intensive Care Paramedics (ICPs) who were trained in advanced life support skills;all were operational and practicing paramedics qualified in morphine administration. Participants were required to complete a survey designed to assess their knowledge of morphine drug therapy protocol (DTP). The survey involved two sections: 1) demographics, and 2) questions related to two scenario-based cases. Scenario one was a cardiac case and scenario two was a pediatric case. Results: In scenario one, more intensive care paramedics administered the correct dose than the advanced care paramedics (25.4% vs. 4.4%;df = 101, P = 0.002);scenario two showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (35.5% vs. 31.6%;df = 97, P = 0.3). Conclusion: The comparison of the two levels of paramedics and their adherence to drug protocols identified that ICPs had a higher rate than ACPs for adherence to morphine administration protocols for patients suffering cardiac related chest pain. The clinical differences may be based on the length of the opioid-administration training program, clinical exposure to morphine administration, work experience and length of qualifications as an ACP or ICP. Our findings suggest that there is a need for structured initial and ongoing continuing education programs in pain management to maintain knowledge and behavior in pain management strategies. Further research is also required into paramedic’s behavioral intention regarding morphine administration to also identify what constructs affect their intent to administer morphine.

Investigation of DNA Sequences Related to Latency-Associated Transcripts in the Genome of Canine Herpesvirus Type 1 (CHV-1) by Means of Bioinformatics Tools

A characteristic common to herpesviruses is the ability to establish a latent infection in the hosts, a transcriptionally active region has detected during latency as well as a set of RNA that are known as Latency Associated Transcripts (LATs), their functions have been clarified in recent work. The present work was carried using different bioinformatics method in order to determine if Herpesvirus Canine 1 (CHV-1) has a region associated with latency. Our result was the selection of nine sequences candidate of micro RNA (miRNA) (MIREval 2.0 software), and 26 miRNA (miRNAFold v.1.0 software), of them, were selected 14 with real precursors of miRNA, two were found between the RL2 and RS1 genes, one in the RL2 gene and 11 in the RS1 gene. The results showed that the similarities of these regions are very low among the herpesviruses analyzed, so it was not possible to deduce the presence of the LAT gene in canine herpesvirus type 1 with bioinformatics. On the other hand, the comparison showed that the miRNA predicted: chv1-mir-mirnafold-8 has similarity with the ebv-mir-BART7-3p of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), in this way, the microRNAs predicted by means of bioinformatic programs met the theoretical requirements of these molecules, however at not having a degree of preservation in other herpesviruses, the expression by CHV-1 in latency cannot be confirmed and it is necessary to identify through experimental tests.

Stimulation of Phagocytosis and Production of Antibodies against Canine Herpesvirus Type 1 by Pidotimod (Adimod^TM)

Neutrophils are the most important circulating phagocytes. Circulating mono-cytes and precursors of tissue macrophages also have the ability to phagocytize. Pidotimod (ADIMODTM) exerts immunostimulatory and immunoregulatory effects through the stimulation and regulation of cellular immune responses by lymphocytes Canine herpesvirus (CHV) mainly affect puppies between the first and second weeks of age, causing high morbidity in the litter. To date, there is only one commercial vaccine in Europe to prevent disease. In this work, inactivated CHV cultures were inoculated in rabbits, adsorbed and not adsorbed to chitosan nanoparticles. Phagocytosis in the presence or absence of specific antibodies was measured. Response of virus neutralizing antibodies was also evaluated. AdimodTM enhanced the nonspecific and specific phagocytotic response. The association of the virus to the nanoparticles increased the phagocytic ability of blood cells;however, AdimodTM alone had a greater effect on phagocytic activity and generated a stronger immune response that corresponded to the increased phagocytosis (p TM was used.

Sanitary Regulation of Pharmaceutical Products in Mexico （Sanitary Registration-Board Arrangement-Patent）-Monoclonal Antibody Case Study

The Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks in Mexico （COFEPRIS） is responsible for the regulation and health promotion of the production, commercialization, import, export, publicity or involuntary exposure of medicines and technologies for health. For its part, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property （IMPI） is a decentralized public body with legal personality, own property and legal authority to administer the industrial property system in our country. In the year 2000, on September 19, the official journal published the linking of patents related to allopathic medicines and the sanitary registry. Objectives： To publicize the process of linking the Sanitary-Patent Registry as a case study to delimit the scope of the new pharmaceutical products. Methodology： Request the information to COFEPRIS for the registration of a new pharmaceutical product; Establish flow diagrams for the registration of： innovative products, generic products, biotech products and bio similar products; Integrate the documents in the dossier of the pharmaceutical product for sanitary registration; Elaborate sworn letter of non-invasion of patents and study of patents; Submit the Health Registry; Intergovernmental consultation. Sanitary Registry Results： Search of patents in databases to elaborate state of the art, to write letter under protest to say truth that is not invading any patent, when developing a composition of cetuximab, as generic product since the patent molecule expired in 2016 and 11 patents related to compositions, preparations and finished product preparation processes. Conclusions： COFEPRIS will determine through intergovernmental consultation with the IMPI whether or not a patent is invaded, according to the case it will grant the registration or send the corresponding prevention for cetuximab, in case that invading can also be a refusal of grant.

Development and Validation of Proximal Chemistry Analytical Procedure in Semi-automated Equipment

The proximal chemical analysis （AQP） includes 5 fundamental tests, which are： determination of crude protein, determination of crude fiber, determination of humidity, determination of ashes and determination of fat. This last determination can be made in two different ways, which will depend on the type of sample being treated, as well as the amount of fat expected to be obtained in the food to be analyzed. For foods with low amounts of fat the hydrolysis technique is used, which is divided into 3 phases. All the methods before being taken to the daily practice in a laboratory of food analysis either internal control, verification or third authorized must be validated, in order to obtain consistent, robust and reliable results. In those cases in which the method that will be tested differs with the method that is reported in the literature, a comparison of both methods should be made in order to ensure that both are compatible and the results will be equally reliable. In the validation, the acceptance parameters will be established for each one of the tests that are carried out in it, while at the end of it the acceptance criteria for the general method will be established. The objective of this work was to carry out the development of analytical methodology that was validatable in order to reduce analysis time by using semi-automated equipment. In the case of semi-automated equipment, this comparison of methods is carried out, as it was the case of the analysis of fat with hydrolysis, which used a hydrolysis unit and the extraction equipment using samples of finished food for animal consumption. The results obtained in the validation using the traditional method correspond to a CV less than 2%, while the results obtained using semi-automated equipment correspond to a CV less than 2% for the case of fat determination with hydrolysis.

Evolutionary Optimization: Pitfalls and Booby Traps

Evolutionary computation （EC）, a collective name rithms, is one of the fastest-growing areas in computer science. for a range of metaheuristic black-box optimization algo- Many manuals and ＂how-to＇s on the use of different EC methods as well as a variety of free or commercial software libraries are widely available nowadays. However, when one of these methods is applied to a real-world task, there can be many pitfalls and booby traps lurking certain aspects of the optimization problem that may lead to unsatisfactory results even if the algorithm appears to be correctly implemented and executed, These include the convergence issues, ruggedness, deceptiveness, and neutrality in the fitness landscape, epistasis, non-separability, noise leading to the need for robustness, as well as dimensionality and scalability issues, among others. In this article, we systematically discuss these related hindrances and present some possible remedies. The goal is to equip practitioners and researchers alike with a clear picture and understanding of what kind of problems can render EC applications unsuccessful and how to avoid them from the start.