Assessing the quality of chest compressions with a DIY low-cost manikin (LoCoMan) versus a standard manikin: a quasi-experimental study in primary education.

Extending the access to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to a wider public is an important step in increasing survivability of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, often price and maintenance of CPR manikins are barriers that prevent training at schools. This study aims to evaluate the learning of hands-only (HO) CPR by practicing with a low-cost manikin (LoCoMan) with visual qualitative feedback and to compare the results with the skills acquired by practice on a conventional manikin.

A simple model for the interaction between T. cruzi and its antibodies during Chagas infection.

The evolution of the acute phase of the Chagas infection is analysed from the viewpoint of the dynamic competition between parasite and antibody populations. A simple model for the growth and annihilation of these populations is shown to provide a suitable description of the experimental data. We also find that it is possible to classify antibody response to Trypanosoma cruzi, into three main cases, defined by antibody efficiency, initial number and creation rate.

Gangliosides raise the intracellular Ca2+ level in different cell types.

Total gangliosides from bovine brain at micromolar concentration induce intracellular Ca2+ increments in a temperature, time and dose dependent manner when assayed with suspensions of rat macrophages, rat and chicken neurons, human erythrocytes and liposomes, loaded with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator FURA 2. The effect was independent on the endogenous ganglioside composition of the cells and in the case of neurons it was also independent on the differentiation state. Gangliosides do not induce the release of Ca2+ from inner stores.