Publications by authors named "Falcon M"

Background: Addiction to smartphone is defined as the disability to cease using the device despite the physical, psychological, or social consequences. The diagnosis of this disorder is increasing exponentially among teenagers, even more so after Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to analyze the risk of mobile phone addiction among teenagers in Italy and its relationship with other risk behaviors, such as drug consumption and emotional well-being, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Covid pandemic has yielded new insights into psychological vaccine acceptance factors. This knowledge serves as a basis for behavioral and communication interventions that can increase vaccination readiness for other diseases.

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Biological matrices are typically used in forensic toxicological or pharmacological analysis: mainly blood, vitreous humor or urine. However, there are many cases in which crimes are a consequence of drug intoxication or drug abuse and they are not closed because over the months or years the samples become altered or decomposed. A dried blood stains test (DBS-MS) has recently been proposed to be used in drug toxicology when blood is found at a crime scene.

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The diagnosis of infectious diseases at herd level can be challenging as different stakeholders can have conflicting priorities. The current study proposes a "proof of concept" of an approach that considers a reasonable number of criteria to rank plausible diagnostic strategies using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods. The example of Salmonella Dublin diagnostic in Québec dairy herds is presented according to two epidemiological contexts: (i) in herds with no history of S.

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This study aimed to describe the change in knowledge, attitudes, concerns, perceptions, preventive practices, and vaccination intention at two key time points of the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess whether these changes varied by level of pandemic fatigue. Data included in this study came from the third and the ninth round of the COSMO-Spain cross-sectional study. A general linear model was used to investigate the interaction terms between rounds and levels of pandemic fatigue.

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Introduction: Our objective was to compare the in vitro efficacy of electrothermal bipolar [EB] vessel sealing and ultrasonic harmonic scalpel [HS] versus mechanical interruption, with conventional ties or surgical clips (SC), in sealing saphenous vein (SV) collaterals, during its eventual preparation for bypass surgery.

Methods: Experimental in vitro study on 30 segments of SV. Each fragment included two collaterals at least 2 mm in diameter.

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remains one of the leading causes of infections worldwide and a common cause of bacteraemia. However, studies documenting the epidemiology of in South America using genomics are scarce. We hereby report on the largest genomic epidemiology study to date of both methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) in South America, conducted by the StaphNET-SA network.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates why certain individuals in Spain chose not to get vaccinated during the later stage of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, focusing on their beliefs and motivations.
  • Two groups of unvaccinated people (ages 18-40) were surveyed online, revealing that many felt vaccines were developed too quickly and were unsafe.
  • The findings indicate a need for targeted information campaigns to counter misinformation, as different groups exhibit varying levels of trust in health professionals and willingness to get vaccinated in the future.
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Background: The gut has been hypothesized to be a protagonist tissue in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) for the past three decades. Gastric reactance (XL) is a potential perfusion marker derived from gastric impedance spectroscopy (GIS), which is an emerging tool through which living tissue can be continuously measured to determine its pathophysiological evolution. This study aimed to compare the performance of XL [positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV), and area under the curve (AUC)] against commonly used perfusion markers before and during hypovolemic shock in swine subjects.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of health literacy to make informed preventive decisions. A specific COVID-19 health literacy questionnaire (CHL-Q) is included in the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring WHO initiative to conduct behavioral insights studies related to COVID-19. The objective was to assess the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the COVID-19 Health Literacy Questionnaire (CHL-Q).

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Uterine metastases from extra pelvic tumors are rare; involvement of the uterus is usually by direct neoplastic extension from adjacent organs. We report the case of a 68-year-old woman with a history of total thyroidectomy. She presented with urinary incontinence associated with episodes of metrorrhagia.

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An 18-year-old male was admitted for his second induction chemotherapy treatment for an acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, and mercaptopurine. He presented with high fever, abdominal pain, non-bloody diarrhoea, portal hypertension and leukopenia. Stool sample analysis, blood cultures and extensive work-up were negative.

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Inter-brain synchronization during social interaction has been linked with several positive phenomena, including closeness, cooperation, prosociality, and team performance. However, the temporal dynamics of inter-brain synchronization during collaboration are not yet fully understood. Furthermore, with collaboration increasingly happening online, the dependence of inter-brain phase synchronization of oscillatory activity on physical presence is an important but understudied question.

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Background: Pandemic fatigue is defined as feelings of demotivation to follow preventive measures against COVID-19, together with decreased trust in government and frequency of information-seeking behaviors.

Objective: This study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the COVID-19-specific pandemic fatigue scale according to classical test theory (CTT) and Rasch model approaches in the general Spanish population.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in a representative sample of 1018 adults who completed an online survey in November 2020 in the framework of the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO)-Spain project.

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Carbamazepine is the main option used as a preventive medication to treat bipolar disorder when there is no response to lithium. Carbamazepine toxicity is defined as serum levels greater than 12 μg/mL, with severe toxicity occurring over 40 μg/mL, reduced to 30 μg/mL when combined with pharmacological treatment, i.e.

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Behavioural sciences have complemented medical and epidemiological sciences in the response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As vaccination uptake continues to increase across the EU/EEA - including booster vaccinations - behavioural science research remains important for both pandemic policy, planning of services and communication. From a behavioural perspective, the following three areas are key as the pandemic progresses: (i) attaining and maintaining high levels of vaccination including booster doses across all groups in society, including socially vulnerable populations, (ii) informing sustainable pandemic policies and ensuring adherence to basic prevention measures to protect the most vulnerable population, and (iii) facilitating population preparedness and willingness to support and adhere to the reimposition of restrictions locally or regionally whenever outbreaks may occur.

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Objective: Medical doctors' empathy is known to support patients' health status after face-to-face clinical visits. However, the role of doctors' empathy in chat-based encounters is not yet well understood. This study investigates whether patients' evaluations of doctors' empathy are associated with their health perceptions after a meeting at an online clinic and whether experiences of empathy could be enhanced by augmenting an automated anamnesis questionnaire completed before the visit.

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Kohl is a traditional cosmetic widely used in Asia and Africa. In recent years, demand for kohl-based eyelids and lipsticks has increased in Europe, linked to migratory phenomena of populations from these continents. Although the European legislation prohibits the use of heavy metals in cosmetics due to the harmful effects to human health, particularly to pregnant women and children, these elements are still present in certain products.

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To describe changes in knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices (KAP), risk perception, and psychological variables of Spanish population toward the COVID-19 pandemic from July to November 2020. Three samples, each of one composed by 1,000+ persons aged 18 years or older, were interviewed online in three rounds, every 2 months, from July to November 2020. The level of knowledge on COVID-19 was high in the three rounds, with percentages above 95% of correct answers related to ways of contagion and correct use of face masks.

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Introduction: In this study, we aimed at quantifying placental concentrations of 22 chemical elements in small fetuses (SGA) as compared with normally grown fetuses (AGA), and to assess the relationship with Doppler markers of placental function.

Methods: Prospective cohort study, including 71 SGA fetuses (estimated fetal weight < 10th percentile) and 96 AGA fetuses (estimated fetal weight > 10th percentile), recruited in the third trimester of gestation. The placental concentration of 22 chemical elements was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES, ICAP 6500 Duo Thermo): aluminum (Al), beryllium (Be), bismuth (Bi), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chrome (Cr), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), rubidium (Rb), sulfur (S), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti), thallium (Tl), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn).

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Objective: Most patients with mild COVID-19 had to stay at home trying to implement an optimal quarantine. The aim of this study was to describe the COVID-19 cases during the first wave of the pandemic in Spain, how they managed the disease at home, focusing on differences by age, as well as differences in knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices, compared with the uninfected population.

Design: An online survey was used to conduct a cross-sectional study of individuals who were 14 years or older living in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown.

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Background: Worldwide, Peru has one of the highest infection fatality rates of COVID-19, and its capital city, Lima, accumulates roughly 50% of diagnosed cases. Despite surveillance efforts to assess the extent of the pandemic, reported cases and deaths only capture a fraction of its impact due to COVID-19's broad clinical spectrum. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Lima, stratified by age, sex, region, socioeconomic status (SES), overcrowding, and symptoms.

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Lately, number of divorces is increasing, nevertheless, a parents' divorce can become a traumatic problem for paediatric patients. Consequently, the aim of this study was to analyze the ethical conflicts that appear in the relationship between physician/parents/son/daughter, and more specifically those that a divorce generates. A descriptive study was developed through a survey composed by 39 items.

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Objectives: We present the technical description and preliminary results of a hybrid approach for the treatment of chronic total occlusions of superficial femoral artery in the setting of critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of selected case series was performed. A trans-popliteal hybrid technique was carried out in seven limbs (six patients).

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