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Background: The care of dependent people is eminently family-oriented, and often, there is a high level of dedication to this family care. Constant and continuous care leads to a series of negative psychological consequences. Social support has been related to improved mental health in family caregivers. We found heterogeneous results regarding the relationship between the types of social support received and the perceived level of support. In addition, to our knowledge, no reviews analyse this relationship among family caregivers. Objectives: Therefore, we objective to systematically synthesise the relationships between perceived and received social support in informal caregivers. Methodology: We have carried out a quantitative systematic review with a meta-analysis, registered in PROSPERO (id: CRD42023470047); the systematic search was carried out in the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus, until November 2023. After the selection and review of the results, twelve studies were obtained, two of which were eliminated due to a high risk of classification bias. Results: Regarding the results, a medium-size positive statistical association was found (r = 0.43). The results were consistent, accurate, and robust. The Trim and Fill test showed a variation of 7%. Subgroup analysis indicated no differences in the age group of the people cared for (adults or children), selection bias, and confounding bias. Conclusions: In conclusions, perceived social support is related to more social support received by family caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the second most common valve disease in Europe, and differences between men and women have been described in relation to aetiology or management, which might impact the decision for intervention and patients' clinical and economic outcomes. Thus, the objective was to analyse the burden of MR in Spain by aetiology and sex, and the management of all patients suffering from MR being admitted to hospital between 2016–2021. Methods: An analysis was carried out with the Ministry of Health's database, including all patients in public and subsidised hospitals and defining two groups, general MR and those patients undergoing Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge repair (TEER), using a descriptive analysis of patients' characteristics, use of resources, and outcomes; standardised rates were calculated and observed outcomes were described. Results: Hospital admissions increased from 2016 (n = 32,806) to 2021 (total n = 61,036). In general, the women were older and presented more complications. The majority of patients suffered from degenerative MR (DMR) (n = 183,005, 59.55%), and 61.56% were women, contrary to functional MR (FMR) (n = 124,278), which consisted of 62.15% males. In total, 1,689 TEERs were performed, 23.33% of them in urgent admissions, and mostly in men (65.66%). All groups showed higher rates of intervention for males. Regarding costs, women presented lower mean costs in the general MR groups but those undergoing TEER presented, in all cases, costs higher than men. Conclusions: MR entails a significant burden for patients and the Spanish healthcare system, increasing over the period of study. Differences in aetiologies by sex have been found in patients' characteristics as well as outcomes. Further studies are needed to optimise patients' management and their outcomes in relation to sex and aetiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous equation model (SEM) is an econometric technique traditionally used in economics but with many applications in other sciences. This model allows the bidirectional relationship between variables and a simultaneous relationship between the equation set. There are many estimators used for solving an SEM. Two-steps least squares (2SLS), three-steps least squares (3SLS), indirect least squares (ILS), etc. are some of the most used of them. These estimators let us obtain a value of the coefficient of an SEM showing the relationship between the variables. There are different works to study and compare the estimators of an SEM comparing the error in the prediction of the data, the computational cost, etc. Some of these works study the estimators from different paradigms such as classical statistics, Bayesian statistics, non-linear regression models, etc. This work proposes to assume an SEM as a particular case of an artificial neural networks (ANN), considering the neurons of the ANN as the variables of the SEM and the weight of the connections of the neurons the coefficients of the SEM. Thus, backpropagation method using stochastic gradient descent (SGD) is proposed and studied as a new method to obtain the coefficient of an SEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous studies in the literature have aimed to evaluate the difficulty level of removing third molars. However, most of these studies have focused on the lower third molars, which can lead to complications. There is a lack of a method to determine the complexity of upper third molar extraction. Therefore, this study's objective was to develop an equation using multiple linear regression to estimate the extraction time of an upper third molar based on its complexity. Methods: This study involved patients enrolled in the Master of Oral Surgery program at the University of Seville. To determine their relationship with surgical time, the researchers analyzed various factors, such as depth, root morphology, and the need for odontosection. They then validated their findings by studying patients treated at Palmaplanas Hospital in Mallorca. Results: The cohort analysis from the University of Seville revealed significant associations between surgical time and the identified factors. A regression equation design was performed to predict the total duration of surgical intervention for wisdom teeth extraction. This equation incorporates several independent variables, represented by Xi, together with a constant term, C, and the corresponding coefficients, Bi, which weight the impact of each variable on the intervention time. The results are as follows: −0.312 (spatial relationship), 0.651 (depth), −0.443 (bone and mucosa integrity), 0.214 (roots), −0.745 (ostectomy), 0.713 (odontosection), and −0.426 (suture). Upon application of the statistical methodology to the Palmaplanas Hospital cohort, a regression coefficient of 0.770 was determined. This indicates a strong correlation between the input data and the estimated surgical time. Conclusions: In conclusion, the proposed formula demonstrates notable validity in predicting the surgical time required to extract upper third molars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of complementary therapies in the general population is increasing, so it is necessary to understand the training that health professionals receive in this type of therapy in their training plans, as they are often the primary source of information for patients. Our aim was to investigate Spanish universities that offer subjects on complementary therapies in their nursing degree programs. Methods: This study is an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. For this purpose, we used a document published on the website of the Ministry of Universities as the working document. Additionally, a literature search was conducted up to September 2023 in the PubMed database, along with reverse searches. Results: Out of a total of 62 universities, only 16 (29%) offer a subject related to this type of therapy, 27.5% (11) are public universities and 22.7% (5) are private universities, most of them being optional subjects. Conclusions: The training content on complementary care in nursing degree programs in Spanish universities is scarce, highlighting the potential benefit of expanding and promoting it, in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]