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The purpose of this study was to compare vascular calcification (VC), serum osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels, and other biochemical markers to determine their value as available predictors of all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD). A total of 197 patients were recruited from seven dialysis centers in Mexico City. VC was assessed with multi-slice computed tomography, measured using the calcification score (CaSc). OPG, albumin, calcium, hsC-reactive protein, phosphorous, osteocalcin, total alkaline phosphatase, and intact parathormone were also analyzed. Follow-up and mortality analyses were assessed using the Cox regression model. The mean age was 43.9 ± 12.9 years, 64% were males, and 53% were diabetics. The median OPG was 11.28 (IQR: 7.6−17.4 pmol/L), and 42% of cases had cardiovascular calcifications. The median VC was 424 (IQR:101−886). During follow-up (23 ± 7 months), there were 34 deaths, and 44% were cardiovascular in origin. In multivariable analysis, OPG was a significant predictor for all-cause (HR 1.08; p < 0.002) and CV mortality (HR 1.09; p < 0.013), and performed better than VC (HR 1.00; p < 0.62 for all-cause mortality and HR 1.00; p < 0.16 for CV mortality). For each mg/dL of albumin-corrected calcium, there was an increased risk for CV mortality, and each g/dL of albumin decreased the risk factor for all-cause mortality. OPG levels above 14.37 and 13.57 pmol/L showed the highest predictive value for all-cause and CV mortality in incident PD patients and performed better than VC.

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Indentation is a standard, widely used technique in mechanical assays and theoretical analysis. It unveils the fundamental modes of deformation and predicts the response of the material under more complex loads. Here we present an experimental setup for testing thin-film materials by studying the lateral indentation of a narrow opening cut into a film, triggering a cascade of buckling events. The force response F is dominated by bending and stretching effects for small displacements and slowly varies with indenter displacement F ∼ d2/5, to finally reach a wrinkled state that results in a robust nonlinear asymptotic relation, F ∼ d4. Experiments with films of various thicknesses and material properties, and numerical simulations confirm our analysis and help to define an order parameter that accounts for the different response regimes observed in experiments and simulations.

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RESUMEN El objetivo de esta investigación fue identificar los hábitos de lectura en tres grupos de estudiantes de primer semestre de la licenciatura en Psicología Educativa de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Unidad Ajusco en la Ciudad de México. Este estudio tuvo un alcance descriptivo con un diseño no experimental en el que participaron 69 alumnos, de los cuales 60 fueron mujeres y 9 hombres con un promedio de edad de 20 años, cuya selección se realizó bajo un muestreo no probabilístico por la accesibilidad y la disponibilidad del docente responsable de los grupos. Para la obtención de los datos se utilizó el Cuestionario sobre Hábitos de Lectura el cual fue aplicado en el salón de clase de cada uno de los grupos programados y para el procesamiento de la información se utilizó el software Excel versión 2013. Los resultados mostraron que quienes fueron analizados en este estudio, a pesar de que leen periódicamente, no tienen el hábito; además se encontró que el libro sigue siendo la principal fuente de información tanto en el formato impreso como digital.

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to identify reading habits in three groups of first semester students of the Bachelor in Educational Psychology of the National Pedagogical University Unit Ajusco in Mexico City. This study had a descriptive scope with a non-experimental design in which 69 students participated, of which 60 were women and 9 men with an average age of 20 years, whose selection was made under a non-probabilistic sampling for accessibility and availability of the teacher responsible for the groups. To obtain the data, the Reading Habits Questionnaire was used, which was applied in the classroom of each of the programmed groups and for the information processing the Excel 2013 version software was used. The results showed that the students analyzed in this study, although they read periodically do not have the habit, it was also found that the book is still the main source of information in both the printed and digital format.

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Lung metastasectomy is an area of interest and controversy in surgical oncology. Most of the available evidence derives from small cohorts with short follow-up. The aim of this study was to evaluate the oncologic outcomes in an 18-year cohort from a single center. We retrospectively reviewed 398 patients with several malignancies who underwent lung metastasectomy between January 1990 and December 2008. Demographic, clinical, and surgical variables were evaluated. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with overall survival (OS). Mean follow-up was 20 months. Wedge resection was performed in 297 cases and 101 required anatomic resections. In 303 patients the disease-free interval (DFI) was >6 months meanwhile 95 patients had a DFI ≤6 months. Complete resection was achieved in 351 patients (88.2%). Median OS for all patients was 81.9 months (95% CI, 36.9-126.9). On multivariate analysis, factors associated with a poor overall survival were DFI <6 months (HR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.24-2.4; p=0.001) and incomplete resection (HR, 1.58 95% CI, 1.01-2.5; p=0.0047). Independent prognostic factors associated with better survival were DFI >6 months and complete resection. Size and number of metastases as well as re-do metastasectomy were not associated with worse survival.

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PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial evaluated whether the combination of cisplatin and paclitaxel (PC) plus all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) increases response rate (RR) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with an acceptable toxicity profile and its association with the expression of retinoic acid receptor beta 2 (RAR-beta2) as a response biomarker. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with stages IIIB with pleural effusion and IV NSCLC were included to receive PC, and randomly assigned to receive ATRA 20 mg/m(2)/d (RA/PC) or placebo (P/PC) 1 week before treatment until two cycles were completed. RAR-beta2 expression was analyzed in tumor and adjacent lung tissue. RESULTS: One hundred seven patients were included, 55 in the P/PC group and 52 in the RA/PC group. RR for RA/PC was 55.8% (95% CI, 46.6% to 64.9%) and for P/PC, 25.4% (95% CI, 21.3 to 29.5%; P = .001). The RA/PC group had a longer median PFS (8.9 v 6.0 months; P = .008). Multivariate analysis of PFS showed significant differences for the RA/PC group (hazard ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.4 to 0.95). No significant differences in toxicity grade 3/4 were found between groups, except for hypertriglyceridemia (10% v 0%) in RA/PC (P = .05). Immunohistochemistry and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays showed expression of RAR-beta2 in normal tissues of all tumor samples, but only 10% of samples in the tumor tissue. CONCLUSION: Adding ATRA to chemotherapy could increase RR and PFS in patients with advanced NSCLC with an acceptable toxicity profile. A phase III clinical trial is warranted to confirm these findings.

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