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Copyright of Magis: Revista Internacional de Investigación en Educación is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: The study examines the effects of the air-bladder offloading mode of a smart pressure redistribution wheelchair cushion on tissue oxygenation in the gluteal tissue of non-disabled participants. The hypothesis is that the cushion's offloading mode, which involves sequentially deflating its five air-bladders one at a time for a specific duration, would improve tissue oxygenation during sitting., Methods: Two procedures were conducted. The first compared the cushion's offloads to a loaded control (LC) with the cushion on static mode, and the second compared the cushion's offloading mode to a standard manual offload performed by the participant. Three trials of each procedure were performed in randomized order. Tissue oxygenation was continuously monitored with three oxygenation parameters analysed: oxygen saturation (SO 2 ), oxygenated haemoglobin (OxyHb), and deoxygenated haemoglobin (DeoxyHb). Data recordings were segmented in each step of the offloading sequence for analysis. A paired t-test was performed for comparisons with significance considered at α = 0.05. Ten healthy adults participated in the study., Impact: Results showed that as the air bladders deflated over time, the three evaluated parameters changed, affecting oxygenation even when other tissue areas were offloaded. The results indicated that the cushion's sacral offload had the greatest impact on improving tissue oxygenation among the five air-bladders in all ten subjects ( p  < 0.05). Furthermore, SO 2 during the cushion's offload in the sacral region was similar to a manual offload. The study results suggest that the cushion could benefit tissue oxygenation, especially for individuals unable to change positions independently. Further research is needed to determine its effectiveness for wheelchair users.

Aim of the Study: This study investigated how the air-bladder offloading mode of the Orbiter by Kalogon wheelchair cushion (Orbiter) affected blood flow in the gluteal region of non-disabled subjects. The hypothesis was that the cushion's offloading mode would improve blood flow, resulting in reduced reactive hyperemia when compared to the static setting, or Loaded Control (LC). Furthermore, the study proposed a technique using a high-resolution image laser speckle contrast system to measure blood flow in the gluteal area., Methods: Two procedures were carried out, one with the participant sitting on a cushion in LC, and the second, the cushion was set to offloading mode. Blood flow was measured through data imaging after each procedure. Three trials were performed, starting and ending in different cushion bladders. Customized algorithms were used to select regions of interest on the images for calculations. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was conducted to compare the offloads and loaded control values of each region of interest. Results were considered significant at α = 0.05., Results: Ten healthy, non-disabled adults participated in the study, seven females and three males. There were no significant differences among the participants. However, results showed that seven subjects tended to decrease reactive hyperemia in the offload sequence of trial when the last two bladders offloaded were the sacrum followed by the right ischial tuberosity., Conclusions: The high-resolution imager showed that the Orbiter Offloads helped reduce reactive hyperemia in seven subjects, potentially improving blood flow. More research is necessary to comprehend the mechanisms of these effects fully., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of an antishear mattress overlay (ASMO) with a standard ambulance stretcher surface in reducing pressure and shear and increasing patient comfort., Methods: In this randomized, crossover design, adults in three body mass index categories served as their own controls. Pressure/shear sensors were applied to the sacrum, ischial tuberosity, and heel. The stretcher was placed in sequential 0°, 15°, and 30° head-of-bed elevations with and without an ASMO. The ambulance traveled a closed course, achieving 30 mph, with five stops at each head-of-bed elevation. Participants rated discomfort after each series of five runs., Results: Thirty individuals participated. Each participant had 30 runs (15 with an ASMO, 15 without), for a total of 900 trial runs. The peak-to-peak shear difference between support surfaces was -0.03 N, indicating that after adjustment for elevation, sensor location, and body mass index, peak shear levels at baseline (starting pause) were 0.03 N lower for the ASMO than for the standard surface ( P = .02). The peak-to-peak pressure difference between surfaces was -0.16 mm Hg, indicating that prerun peak-to-peak pressure was 0.16 mm Hg lower with the ASMO versus standard surface ( P = .002). The heel received the most pressure and shear. Discomfort score distributions differed between surfaces at 0° ( P = .004) and 30° ( P = .01); the overall score across all elevations was significantly higher with the standard surface than with the ASMO ( P = .046)., Conclusions: The ASMO reduced shear, pressure, and discomfort. During transport, the ambulance team should provide additional heel offloading., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: Although other patient safety indicators have seen a decline, pressure injury (PI) incidence has continued to rise. In this article, the authors discuss the role of shear stress and shear strain in PI development and describe how accurate assessment and management can reduce PI risk. They provide explanations of shear stress, shear strain, friction, and tissue deformation to support a better clinical understanding of how damaging these forces are for soft tissue. Clinicians must carefully assess each patient's risk factors regarding shear forces within the contexts of activity and mobility. The authors also provide a toolbox of mitigation strategies, including support surface selection, selection of materials that contact the individual, management of immobility using positioning techniques, and the use of safe patient handling techniques. With a clear understanding of how shear forces affect PI risk and mitigation strategies, clinicians will more accurately assess PI risk and improve PI prevention care plans, ultimately reducing PI incidence to become more aligned with other patient safety indicators., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Bedframes are a potential source of bacterial contamination, fomites, and healthcare-associated infections for patients with active skin wounds and other underlying conditions. Bedframes also differ in their design, materials, texture, and ease of disassembly for cleaning. In this study, the authors evaluated five hospital bedframes in terms of retained soil and ease of cleaning as rated by volunteers., Methods: Hospital mattresses were placed on five different bedframes and soiled with mock bodily fluids containing Geobacillus stearothermophilus endospores as an indicator organism for contamination. In a second set of experiments, volunteers evaluated the bedframes for ease of cleaning; fewer than 30% of the volunteers had experience cleaning in hospitals or had previously received infection-control training. Questionnaires evaluated subjective measures such as ease of cleaning and texture., Results: Researchers observed a strong correlation between the initial amount of soil retained, the most probable number calculations of endospore counts, and the number of washes to reach extinction (no detectable endospores). Although volunteers' rankings for ease of cleaning were independent of the amount of soil retained, their rankings correlated with the actual washes to reach undetectable limits and bedframe materials that were perceived as harder to clean., Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of both bedframe design and user cleaning experience in reducing bedframes as a source of healthcare-associated infections., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Although asexual lineages evolved from sexual lineages in many different taxa, the genetics of sex loss remains poorly understood. We addressed this issue in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, whose natural populations encompass lineages performing cyclical parthenogenesis (CP) and producing one sexual generation per year, as well as obligate parthenogenetic (OP) lineages that can no longer produce sexual females but can still produce males. An SNP-based, whole-genome scan of CP and OP populations sequenced in pools (103 individuals from 6 populations) revealed that an X-linked region is associated with the variation in reproductive mode. This 840-kb region is highly divergent between CP and OP populations (FST = 34.9%), with >2,000 SNPs or short Indels showing a high degree of association with the phenotypic trait. In OP populations specifically, this region also shows reduced diversity and Tajima's D, consistent with the OP phenotype being a derived trait in aphids. Interestingly, the low genetic differentiation between CP and OP populations at the rest of the genome (FST = 2.5%) suggests gene flow between them. Males from OP lineages thus likely transmit their op allele to new genomic backgrounds. These genetic exchanges, combined with the selection of the OP and CP reproductive modes under different climates, probably contribute to the long-term persistence of the cp and op alleles., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

Objective: To compare the characteristics of two commercially available compression systems, a dual-compression bandage system (DCS) and a traditional two-layer bandage (TLB), using a laboratory bench test., Methods: The compression systems were evaluated in a computer-controlled tensile test to generate force-deflection curves for each sample. The compressive work and the theoretical pressure applied to the limb by the respective compression bandages were calculated at the maximum stretch and a stretch instructed by the manufacturers. The manufacturer of the DCS provides reference points on how much the bandage should be stretched to provide the desired pressure, and the TLB stretch was calculated from the product's datasheet., Results: The combined results of layers 1 and 2 for the DCS showed greater load and work than the TLB at both the maximum and recommended stretch. The recommended stretch for DCS and TLB was less than 50% of the deflection up to the breaking point., Conclusions: The high work provided by the two layers of the DCS suggests a wider range of performance than the TLB when applied to the lower limb, especially after the limb volume is initially reduced by compression. Moreover, using the tensile test and the guide of the reference points on layers 1 and 2 from DCS, the calculated pressure achieved the expected values stated by the manufacturer. Human studies should be conducted to determine whether the reference points provided by DCS are beneficial for obtaining repeatable values., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Wound-dressing performances are affected by exudate viscosity, resistance to flow because of gravity, and bodyweight loads, the level of which is related to the body position. Here, we focussed on two dressing properties: (a) Sorptivity-the ability of dressings to transfer exudate away from the wound bed by capillary action-and (b) Durability-the capacity of dressings to maintain their integrity over time and during their removal. Both properties are critically important for avoiding further tissue damage but require the development of new laboratory tests for their measurement. A computer-controlled phantom of an exuding sacral pressure ulcer has therefore been developed and used to compare the performances of Exufiber (Mölnlycke Health Care) vs an alternative market-leading dressing. Sorptivity was determined using weight tests, and durability was measured through tensile tests of the used dressings. For a supine configuration, the Exufiber dressing demonstrated ~three times higher sorptivity and better durability, withstanding ~five times greater strain energy than the other product before failure occurred. This work paves the way for quantitative, standardised testing of dressings in all aspects of exudate management. The reported tests are further suitable for testing dressing combinations or how dressings interact with negative pressure wound therapy., (© 2020 The Authors. International Wound Journal published by Medicalhelplines.com Inc (3M) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Pressure injuries (PI) are an ongoing problem in health care. Current interventions, both from clinicians and support surface technologies, do not sufficiently address PI prevention., Problem: Patient microclimate is a contributing risk factor for PI, one which can be more adequately addressed. However, the acceptable range for microclimate is unknown, in part because the body adapts to changing conditions., Approach: Two key concepts in allostasis are finite resources and responding to intrinsic and extrinsic demands. These concepts have not previously been applied to PI treatment or interventions. Addressing microclimate, when coupled with an increasing awareness of the cumulative effect of individual patient risk factors, can help resolve the risk of PI by lowering the cumulative inputs to keep patients under the threshold for tissue damage., Conclusion: This new approach, which places microclimate risk into the broader conceptual framework of allostasis, can produce more effective products and interventions to prevent PI., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)