Aunque al compararlo con otros países de la región, el sistema carcelario chileno aún parece estar en mejores condiciones relativas, este es precario al ser examinado frente a países desarrollados ...donde se gestiona mejor la reinserción. Aunque esta precariedad suele mirarse solo en términos del hacinamiento, existen otros problemas más invisibles, siendo uno de ellos los datos con los que la institución trabaja y gestiona su la reinserción, en particular. En base a una revisión de los campos contenidos en uno de los sistemas informáticos más utilizados por Gendarmería (el llamado “Sistema Internos”), este artículo analiza sus variables, argumentando que esta herramienta de datos refleja y perpetua una forma de nombrar a las personas encarceladas solo en función de sus déficits, carencias y “riesgos” individualmente-determinados. Asimismo, los datos contenidos en este sistema de registro resultan insuficientes para diseñar, implementar y monitorear avances en la reinserción de las personas encarceladas, de acuerdo con la literatura especializada internacional.
El presente artículo analiza el proceso de retorno de individuos que han estado privados de libertad en el sistema penitenciario chileno (han “egresado de la cárcel”) a sus comunidades una vez que ...cumplen sus condenas, a la luz tanto de conceptos y teorías relacionadas a lo que se ha denominado prisoner reentry, como también de diversos indicadores de pobreza provenientes de fuentes secundarias. Para ello se ensamblaron y analizaron datos administrativos provistos tanto por Gendarmería de Chile (número de egresos carcelarios por año y unidad penal) como por sistemas de registro disponibles al público (habitantes totales por comuna, porcentaje de población en pobreza), con un foco en las 52 comunas de la Región Metropolitana. Uno de nuestros hallazgos muestra una fuerte correlación entre número de egresos carcelarios y número de personas en condición de pobreza en los territorios comunales donde retornan los ex reclusos (r Pearson = 0,80). Finalmente, se discuten las implicancias de estos hallazgos no solo para la política pública en materia de reinserción social sino también en cuanto a subrayar el hecho de que en estos territorios socialmente desventajados muchas veces los derechos sociales básicos no han sido cubiertos mínimamente, transformándose en generadores de delincuencia.
Resumen: El presente artículo tiene dos objetivos. El primero busca determinar en qué medida la Fiscalía, como institución y en su forma de realizar inspecciones, satisface las exigencias ...contempladas por el derecho internacional de los derechos humanos en la materia. El segundo objetivo, pretende identificar y sistematizar los problemas en materia de condiciones carcelarias levantados por la Fiscalía Judicial de la Corte Suprema, verificando si dicha realidad carcelaria descrita en las actas de visita carcelaria coincide, por un lado, con los informes emitidos por el Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos y, por otro, con los estándares establecidos por la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. Para la identificación y sistematización de los problemas en materia de condiciones carcelarias se examinó una muestra de más de trescientas actas de visita de cárceles realizadas por la Fiscalía Judicial en su rol de inspector entre los años 2013 al 2017, obtenidas a través de un acuerdo entre el Centro de Estudios de la Justicia de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Chile y la Fiscalía Judicial. Dichas actas fueron categorizadas, resumidas y analizadas buscando la existencia de conceptos, categorías, así como vínculos entre los datos.
SARS-CoV-2 has had a great impact on world health, patients on hemodialysis have a higher rate of infection and death due to COVID-19. Vaccination is important to control infection and improve the ...prognosis of infected patients. To describe the efficacy of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in Chilean patients on hemodialysis during the year 2021. Retrospective observational study. A total of 9,712 clinical records were reviewed. Data were presented as summary measures. Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, and multivariate logistic regression were used for the analysis. Risk and survival analysis were calculated, considering a statistical significance of less than 0.05. The average age of the patients attended was 61.5 ± 14.6 years. Average time on dialysis 67.6 months and 35.0% diabetic. 93.2% of patients were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, 70.7% of them received booster doses. The risk of infection was higher for those who received one or no dose, compared to those who received booster doses against SARS-CoV-2: OR = 252.46 165.13; 401.57. Of the infected patients, 15.7% died from COVID-19. The risk of death was higher in unvaccinated or single-dose patients compared to those vaccinated with two doses: OR = 2.64 2.23; 3.12. Patients with two doses and a booster had a longer survival compared to those who received one or no dose of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (p < .05). The vaccination in Chile, which started in February 2021, has demonstrated that booster doses against SARS-CoV-2 significantly reduced the risk of infection, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19 in patients on hemodialysis.
Although the number of empirical studies on prison inmates in Latin America has increased in recent years, an aspect that still remains little studied is the situation of prison workers. This article ...analyzes the labor situation of prison officers in Latin America, and considers their working conditions, quality of life and the problems that affect them, in a region marked by precarious, overcrowded and violent prison systems. To do so, a systematic review of articles published in Spanish or Portuguese on the Scielo platform between 2000-2021 was carried out. Our main findings show that prison officers suffer from significant levels of stress and work overload; and carry out their work in poor conditions; with long working hours; performing an invisible and socially undervalued job; with important risks of negative consequences for their physical and mental health. Finally, some implications of the findings and some lines of intervention are discussed.
The ability of the human isolate Lactobacillus fermentum UCO-979C to form biofilm and synthesize exopolysaccharide on abiotic and biotic models is described. These properties were compared with the ...well-known Lactobacillus casei Shirota to better understand their anti-Helicobacter pylori probiotic activities. The two strains of lactobacilli synthesized exopolysaccharide as detected by the Dubois method and formed biofilm on abiotic and biotic surfaces visualized by crystal violet staining and scanning electron microscopy. Concomitantly, these strains inhibited H. pylori urease activity by up to 80.4% (strain UCO-979C) and 66.8% (strain Shirota) in gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells, but the two species showed equal levels of inhibition (~84%) in colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells. The results suggest that L. fermentum UCO-979C has probiotic potential against H. pylori infections. However, further analyses are needed to explain the increased activity observed against the pathogen in AGS cells as compared to L. casei Shirota.
Most mammals have a poor tolerance to hypoxia, and prolonged O
restriction can lead to organ injury, particularly during fetal and early postnatal life. Nevertheless, the llama (
) has evolved ...efficient mechanisms to adapt to acute and chronic perinatal hypoxia. One striking adaptation is the marked peripheral vasoconstriction measured in the llama fetus in response to acute hypoxia, which allows efficient redistribution of cardiac output toward the fetal heart and adrenal glands. This strong peripheral vasoconstrictor tone is triggered by a carotid body reflex and critically depends on α-adrenergic signaling. A second adaptation is the ability of the llama fetus to protect its brain against hypoxic damage. During hypoxia, in the llama fetus there is no significant increase in brain blood flow. Instead, there is a fall in brain O
consumption and temperature, together with a decrease of Na
-K
-ATPase activity and Na
channels expression, protecting against seizures and neuronal death. Finally, the newborn llama does not develop pulmonary hypertension in response to chronic hypoxia. In addition to maintaining basal pulmonary arterial pressure at normal levels the pulmonary arterial pressor response to acute hypoxia is lower in highland than in lowland llamas. The protection against hypoxic pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary contractile hyperreactivity is partly due to increased hemoxygenase-carbon monoxide signaling and decreased Ca
sensitization in the newborn llama pulmonary vasculature. These three striking physiological adaptations of the llama allow this species to live and thrive under the chronic influence of the hypobaric hypoxia of life at high altitude.
The pericardium, normally so useful in defending the heart from outside invaders, can perform more like a cage when its flexibility is compromised. People present the case of a 50-year-old man who ...was admitted to the nephrology unit when severe chronic hypotension led to poor hemodynamic tolerance during hemodialysis. He had a 24-year history of kidney disease of unknown etiology. At debut, he presented with pericardial effusion that required urgent initiation of hemodialysis. In 1993, he underwent a kidney transplant Chronic graft dysfunction evolved, and in 2010, he started hemodialysis again. His medical history included chronic liver damage secondary to venous-occlusive disease induced by azathioprine and mesenteric thrombosis managed with oral anticoagulation. In 2011, he underwent subtotal parathyroidectomy for hyperparathyroidism. Here, Sanhueza et al discuss the diagnosis and management of calcified constrictive pericarditis.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been responsible for millions of deaths worldwide. Patients with comorbidities– such as those on peritoneal dialysis (PD)– present higher morbidity and mortality than the ...general population. We prospectively evaluated all Chilean patients on PD (48 centres) and followed those who had Covid-19 from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Chile (March 2020) to January 2021 (start of vaccination campaign). We described demographic history, comorbidities, factors related to infection, need for hospitalisation and death due to Covid-19. During the study period, 106 adults on PD were infected by SARS-CoV-2, with a mean age of 53.1 (±16.3) and of which 53.9% were female. From that group, 54.8% required hospitalisation and 24.5% (n = 26) died due to Covid-19. Most of the patients (63.4%) were infected at home and 22.8% during hospitalisation for other reasons. There was a significant association for Covid-19 mortality with: being ≥60 years old, diabetes, time on PD ≥5 years, need for hospitalisation and hospital-acquired infection. At 90 days of follow-up, all deaths associated to Covid-19 occurred before 40 days. We conclude that patients on PD without Covid-19 vaccination have a high mortality and need for hospitalisation associated to Covid-19. To avoid this negative outcome, it is necessary to intensify strategies to avoid contagion, especially in those ≥60 years old, with diabetes and/or ≥5 years spent on PD.
Prison conditions and the treatment of incarcerated individuals in Chile have improved a great deal when compared to the end-of-the-dictatorship period at the beginning of the 1990s. Along with rapid ...societal changes over the last decade, the Chilean prison system has been transformed in many ways. Today, human rights are more visible within the prison system through a variety of indicators, both quantitative and qualitative. On the other hand, it still has pending tasks and faces new challenges, such as: historical deficit on infrastructure and material conditions, violence inside prison walls, insufficient program access, the COVID-19 crisis, changes in its population, or the threat of organized crime. Although Chile is currently under a democratic regime, the authoritarian legacy still persists and can be traced to how the prison system is operated and structured. Today, the prison service depends on the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and houses about 45,000 incarcerated individuals, a rate of approximately 236 per 100,000 inhabitants (ICPS, 2022). Some have argued that the Chilean prison system is in better shape than neighboring countries, but others criticize its similarities to the rest of the region, which are far from adequate standards when compared to developed countries. This paper utilizes quantitative and qualitative data to describe some of the efforts that have been made to improve the human rights of the incarcerated, critically analyze some pending challenges, and identify current roles and opportunities for social work professionals inside Chilean prisons.
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