Clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease in female SLE patients: Interplay between body mass index and bone mineral density

Background and aims

Since accelerated atherosclerosis has been reported in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), predictive biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are needed. Among non-traditional risk factors, bone mineral density (BMD) has been related to CVD. However, its role in SLE remains controversial. This study aims to analyze the associations of subclinical atherosclerosis with traditional and non-traditional CV risk factors.

Knowledge of the Brain Death Concept in Dominican Immigration Residents in Spain and Florida

The Latin American population has a double way of immigration, one toward the United States by proximity and another toward Spain by sociocultural affinity. This population increase is affecting organ donation and transplantation in receiving countries.

Lung Ultrasound for the Emergency Diagnosis of Pneumonia,Acute Heart Failure,and Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease/Asthma in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background

Lung ultrasound can accelerate the diagnosis of life-threatening diseases in adults with respiratory symptoms.

A comparison of head injuries in male and female lacrosse participants seen in US emergency departments from 2005 to 2016

Introduction

In the United States there has been a large increase in participation in lacrosse for both males and females. The purpose of this study was to analyze the number of head injuries, injury rates (calculated using the reported number of participants) and types of head injuries that are seen in emergency departments in the United States.

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) levels inversely correlate with lung function improvement (delta FEV1) in cystic fibrosis patients receiving ivacaftor treatment

Background

We have recently shown that human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) levels correlate with the severity of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. However, there are no data on how HE4 levels alter in patients receiving CFTR modulating therapy.

Praying to win this battle: Cancer Metaphors in Latina and Spanish Women’s Narratives

ABSTRACT

This study closely examines 51 breast cancer narratives Latina and Spanish women wrote for other patients to illuminate how they conceptualize their health, with insights for addressing health disparities. Using discourse analysis of the role of language and culture in health care communication, this study focuses on the use of metaphors in the narratives. This provides revelations about the cultural and linguistic aspects of how the writers conceptualize their disease. Building on past research on metaphor use in cancer discourse in the English language, this study reveals the prevalence of metaphors comparing cancer to combat, or more generally, violence (e.g., “my battle against cancer”), or a journey (e.g., “my path with cancer”). Writers used this metaphorical language to offer advice to others with cancer and to mark their membership in a larger community of people with cancer. We also find that Spanish women use metaphors more frequently than Latinas and that they differed in their metaphorical portrayals of cancer. This research uncovers culturally embedded themes that are central to how women with cancer think about the disease, such as the prominence of spirituality in Latinas’ metaphorical constructions, a pattern not evident in Spanish women’s narratives.     

Multi-day radon signals with a radioactive decay limb -- occurrence and geophysical significance.

Multi-day signals, generally with duration of 2-10 days, are a prominent temporal variation type of radon (Rn) in geogas in the unsaturated zone. Rare multi-day Rn signals have been found which are characterized by: (a) a declining limb lasting up to 10 days which conforms to the radioactive decay of Rn, (b) recurs at the same location and (c) is recorded in diverse situations-volcanic and seismogenic. It suggested that a Rn blob is injected at a lower level on a steady upward flow of geogas whereby the rise and final fall of the signal are attributed to the edges of the blob while the central Rn-decay segment records the passing of the decaying blob itself. Rn-decay signals are a small subset of multi-day Rn signals which are considered as highly irregular and unusable for the understanding of geophysical processes. In difference, it is concluded that multi-day Rn signals are probably proxies of subtle geodynamic processes at upper crustal levels and are therefore significant for studying such processes.