Modeling the Dynamics of a Secondary Neurodegenerative Injury Following a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

During a traumatic brain injury (TBI), there is an injection of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) from the brain into the bloodstream through a lesion in the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In the blood, a bio controller responds by up-regulating Immunoglobulin G (IgG) production into the bloodstream to remove the excess protein. Here, we model the concentrations over time of GFAP and IgG in the bloodstream following a mild TBI.

A fractional approach to 3D artery simulation under a regular pulse load.

For the diagnosis and treatment of many pathologies related to arteries, it is necessary to known their mechanical behavior. Previous investigation implement multi-layer structural models for arterial walls based on a Fung model, which can be problematic with the material stability in the convergence sense for finite element methods, issue avoided with a large number of terms in the prony series and the inclusion of relaxation function. On the other hand, this solution increase significantly the computer cost for the solution finding.

[Academic modernization of Mexican School of Public Health: 1983-1995].

In this paper we discuss the recent efforts to modernize the School of Public Health of Mexico (ESPM). In the first part we analyze the conditions in which the ESPM operated at the beginning of the 1980s. In part two we describe the changes introduced in the ESPM between 1983 and 1986, up until its incorporation into the National Institute of Public Health (INSP).

Strengthening the quality agenda in health care in low- and middle-income countries: questions to consider.

There is a widespread interest in strengthening the quality agenda in low- and middle-income countries, but the optimal strategies for achieving this are not well defined. We offer an appraisal of the health challenges these countries are confronting, the resources and services provided by their health systems and the spectrum of options between policy and practice. Global health context section presents a brief discussion of the global health context.

The quest for universal health coverage: achieving social protection for all in Mexico.

Mexico is reaching universal health coverage in 2012. A national health insurance programme called Seguro Popular, introduced in 2003, is providing access to a package of comprehensive health services with financial protection for more than 50 million Mexicans previously excluded from insurance. Universal coverage in Mexico is synonymous with social protection of health.

Introducing new technology safely.

Aim: This report considers the introduction of new technology and the implications for patient safety.

Methods And Discussion: A distinction is made between 'conceptually' new and 'contextually' new technology. The life cycle of technology from development to routine use is discussed and the key role for regulation, health technology assessment, clinical engineering and surveillance in this life cycle considered.

Citizens' quality councils: an innovative mechanism for monitoring and providing social endorsement of healthcare providers' performance?

In recent years, under the influence of continuing improvement and total quality strategies, efforts to improve the quality of healthcare have been generated from within each healthcare organization. External mechanisms, such as accreditation, that drive quality improvement from without, have existed for much longer. However, these accreditation systems incorporated the need to demonstrate the existence of continuing improvement processes as a standard barely 10 years ago; thus, the external mechanism included the development of internal processes as yet another requirement.

[Responsiveness of the Mexican health system].

Objective: To present and discuss findings on the responsiveness of the Mexican health system.

Material And Methods: The data source was the 2002-2003 National Performance Assessment Survey. A descriptive analysis was performed and results were adjusted for user's expectations using vignette information.

An innovative approach to public health research: the case of a new center in Mexico.

This paper presents the conceptual and organizational elements that have guided the development of the Center for Public Health Research (CPHR) in Mexico. The CPHR was established in August 1984, in the midst of the most profound health care reform in Mexico in the last 40 years. The reform has included, among other measures, a Constitutional amendment recognizing the social right to health care, an energetic effort to decentralize the system so that each state will run its own services, an ambitious drive to extend primary health care coverage to all the population, and a strong promotion of research as the basis for strategic planning and for the development of standards of care.