Knowledge and preventive measures practiced by junior high school students from Mexico City regarding influenza A (H1N1)

Background: Influenza A (H1N1) is the most recent pandemic disease that has affected the human population. Objective: To evaluate knowledge and preventive measures related with this disease one year after the epidemic of Mexico- that took place in 2009. Material and methods: An epidemiologic survey regarding influenza A (H1N1) was conducted in June 2010 among 2541 students from the second grade of all public high schools in a borough in Mexico City. The questionnaire included items on the knowledge of the disease and practice of preventive measures. Results: Most students obtained the information from television, half of them from parents and only one fifth from teachers;72% of the participants had a favorable knowledge about the disease and the measures to avoid being infected. However, only 37% practiced such preventive measures. Conclusion: Knowledge has a positive influence on practices towards health. Parents and teachers have an important role in health education, thus efforts should be directed to involve them more intensely in health education.

The Effect of Calcium Chloride on the Microbiological Characteristics of Fermented Chile Pepper （Capsicum annuum cv. Mesilla Cayenne） Mash

Fermented chile pepper mash （Capsicum annuum cv. Mesilla Cayenne） is a major industrial food product in New Mexico. The fermentation of chile pepper mash depends on temperature, acidity, salt concentration, dissolved air, available carbohydrates and enzymes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the addition of calcium chloride （CaCI2） on the microbial characteristics of the pepper mash fermentation. Nine five gallon buckets were prepared with pepper that had been washed and ground by the manufacturer, each with 15% sodium chloride added. The buckets were allotted randomly to 1 of 3 treatments. The treatments included no CaCl2, 0.2% CaCl2 and 0.4% CaCl2 added to the pepper mash. Samples were stored at room temperature and sampled over a 3 months period to examine changes in the microflora. Chile mash samples were serially diluted in butterfield＇s phosphate buffer for microbial enumeration. Aerobic plate counts were conducted by pour plating with an overlay. Petrifilms were used for E. coil/coliform counts and Enterobacteriaceae. Yeasts and molds were surface plated on Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol agar while streptococci and lactobacilli were plated onto M17 and acidified MRS respectively. Aerobic plate counts, coliforms, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast, mold, lactobacilli, and streptococci were not affected by CaCl2 level. The addition of 0.4% CaCl2 was found to have no effect on the chile pepper mash fermentation.

Long-term effect of autologous progenitor cell therapy to induce neo angiogenesis in patients with critical limb ischemia transplantated via intramuscular vs combined intramuscular and distal retrograde intra venous

Critical limb ischemia is a medical condition that decreases blood flow and limb oxygen supply;this disease in its late stages of progression leads to only two possible options: either surgical bypass revascularization or limb amputation. We investigated a novel method using autologous transplantation of progenitor cells derived from mobilized peripheral blood bone marrow mononuclear cells to evaluate its long-term effect as a cell therapy to induce neo-angiogenesis and restore blood flow in the affected ischemic limbs. A total of 20 ischemic limbs from critical limb ischemia diagnosed patients, non candidates to surgical revascularization were transplanted with autologous progenitor cells by either intramuscular combined with intravenous (group A) or intramuscular (group B) procedure. Patients were monitored during 31 months. Treatment efficacy was evaluated according to the following parameters: ankle brachial index which increased at a range of 0.29-1.0 in group A and 0.40-0.90 in group B;pain-free walking distance which increased at a range of 50-600 m in group A and 50-300 m in group B;and blood perfusion (measured by Laser Doppler) which increased at a range of 48-299 in group A and 135-225 in group B. We achieved 90% treated ischemic limbs free of amputation in both transplanted groups. Results here described provide a safe, efficient and minimally invasive therapy with progenitor cells to induce angiogenesis and preserve limbs from amputation in CLI diagnosed patients.

Cholecystoenteric fistula with and without gallstone ileus: A case series

Background: A cholecystoenteric stula (CEF) is an uncommon complication of gallstone disease. The aim of this study was to present our experience of a series of patients with CEF, presenting with or without gallstone ileus, along with their surgical outcomes. Methods: From 2015 to 2018, 3245 consecutive patients underwent cholecystectomy for gallbladder disease at our institution, of which 15 were diagnosed with a CEF. All electronic medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Fifteen patients presented with CEF. Ten patients presented cholecystoduodenal stula, four pa- tients cholecystocolonic, and one patient cholecystogastric counterparts. Twelve patients were female. The median patient age was 61 years (range 33 86 years). Five patients presented with gallstone ileus treated by laparotomy and enterolithotomy. In ten patients, a laparoscopic approach was attempted, but conversion to open surgery was necessary for eight of them. The median operative time was 140 min (range 60 240 min), and the median operative blood loss was 50 mL (range 10600mL). The procedure-related morbidity and mortality rates were 13.3% and 6.7%, respectively. Conclusions: There is no consensus on the best treatment modality for a CEF, as the treatment outcome is mostly dependent on the surgeon’s expertise and the patient’s condition. Not all CEFs are accompanied by gallstone ileus. For such case, the main purpose is to resolve the intestinal obstruction and, unless necessary, avoidance of the gallbladder area.

Frequency and severity of OSAHS in Mexican adolescents. The role of BMI and neck circumference

Background: Overweight and obesity are major public-health issues in Mexico. Sleep breathing disorders directly impact the health of affected subjects. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and severity of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in Mexican adolescents grouped by weight status. Secondary objectives were to describe the influence of body mass index (BMI) and neck circumference (NC) as predictive factors of OSAH. Method: Somatometric, demographic data and full-night polysomnography were done. Linear and logistic regression models described the relationship between BMI and NC with OSAHS presence and severity. Receiver-Operating-Characteristics (ROC) curves showed different sensitivity and specificity performances of BMI and NC cutoff-values. Results: OSAHS frequency and severity were significantly greater in obese and extremely-obese adolescents (8% vs 22% vs 67%;p < 0.001). Linear regression showed an AHI increase of 0.940 events/hour for every centimeter-increase in NC and 0.696 events/hour for every1 kg/m2-increase in BMI. Logistic-regression showed extreme-obesity as the main risk factor (OR 9.9) for diagnosis of OSAHS. ROC curves showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 for BMI defined cutoff-values, and of 0.80 for BMI percentile-for-age cutoff-values. The AUC of NC ROC curve was 0.8043. Conclusion: This is the largest study made on Latin-American population evaluating the frequency and severity of OSAHS with full-night polysomnography. We showed that obese and extremely-obese Mexican-adolescents are at highest risk for OSAHS. Increasing BMI and NC showed positive correlation with AHI. Different BMI cut-off values showed similar diagnostic performance. Extreme-obesity increases 8 times the risk association for OSAHS.

Clinical,radiological and molecular diagnosis correlation in serum samples from patients with osteoarticular tuberculosis

Objective:To assess the role of polymerase chain reaction(PCR)in serum sauples,in the diagnosis of osteoarticular tuberculosis(OTB)in a setting where only clinical and imaging diagnoses determine the treatment.Methods:A total of 44 consecutive serum specimens were collected from clinically suspected OTB patients,based on clinical and radiological[X-ray or magnetic resonance imagng/computecl tomography]features.They were scrcened by in-house nested PCR.In addition,a few specimens were examined by Gram stain,acid-fast bacilli stain,histand routine bacterial culture.A total of 39 specimens were collected from patients suffering from other bone diseases of nontuberculous origin and included as negative controls.Results:of the 44 clinically suspected OTB patients,in-house nested PCR was positive in 40(91%)cases;PCR was negative in 38(97%)negative controls.Sensitivity and specificity of our in—house nested PCR was 90.3%and 97.4%,respectively.The PCR report was available within 48 h.It was possible to standardize serum PCR technique and in positive cases,a good n was observed in terms of an adequate treatment response.Conclusions:Nested PCR in serum samples is a rapid,highly sensitive and specific modality for OTB detection,PCR should be performed in addition to clinical evaluation,imaging studies,acidfast bacilli staining,culture and histopathology diagnosis,if possible.

Food Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance an Approach to the Genus <i>Salmonella</i>spp.

Foodborne Illnesses (FI) are considered an important problem in public health for their high levels of morbidity and, in some cases, of mortality in Mexico and around the world. Different agents that cause Foodborne Illnesses, in which biological agents such as the genus Salmonella spp., are included, have been often associated with outbreaks. A continued effort has been observed in the food industry, in collaboration with sanitary authorities on a global scale, through the creation and continued improvement of different procedures to prevent the contamination by Salmonella, in which the elaboration of laboratory methodologies for the detection and isolation of this pathogen in foods and, in such manner, prevents the outbreak of illnesses. However, along with the aforementioned, it has been reported that a few years ago, the appearance of an ever-increasing number of strains of Salmonella spp., in foods with multi-drug resistance to antibiotics which are used in the treatment of its illness, results in a major emphasis on the health issue related to Foodborne Illnesses and, in particular, to those generated by factors of medical dependence such as the increase in recuperation time, costs, and reduction in the number of alternative pharmaceutical treatments. This work presents a general overview of FI, in which illnesses generated by bacteria of the genus Salmonella spp., their detection in a microbiological laboratory, as well as the phenomenon of resistance to antibiotics by these bacteria, and the current and difficult issue reported through different investigations all around the world, of the rise in this phenomenon and its importance in public health, are discussed.

The<i>I</i>550<i>V</i>polymorphism in the renal human sodium/dicarboxylate cotransporter 1 (<i>hNaDC</i>-1) gene is associated with the risk for urolithiasis in adults from Southeastern, Mexico

Urolithiasis (UL) is an endemic disease in Southeastern, Mexico. In order to evaluate the association of I550V polymorphism in the hNaDC-1 gene with risk for hypocitraturia and/or for UL;139 adults with UL and 132 adults without UL, were included under a case-control association study. Citrate levels in 24-h urine were quantified (citraturia). The polymorphism I550V-hNaDC-1 was determined by PCR-RFLP. Statistical analysis was performed using the STATA10.2 software. Comparison of genotype and allele frequencies between subjects with and without UL showed significant differences for genotype bb (OR = 2.34, CI: 1.19-4.59, p = 0.01) and for allele b (OR = 1.62, CI: 1.15-2.28, p = 0.005), suggesting an association with the risk for UL. Comparison of genotype and allele frequencies between subjects with hypocitraturia and subjects with normocitraturia, did not show any significant difference (p > 0.05), suggesting that this polymorphism is not associated with the risk of hypocitraturia. Interestingly, the risk for UL was increased due to an additive effect of hypocitraturia with the genotype bb (OR = 6.6, CI: 2.38-18.28, p = 0.0002) or with the allele b (OR: 4.2, CI = 2.52-6.97,

Studying Some Brain and Ovarian Morphological Traits in Diaglena spatulata Female Frogs Thriving in Conserved and Perturbed Habitats:A Preliminary Report and Its Implications for Amphibian Survival and Continuity

Amphibians are thought to be highly susceptible to perturbed environments. However, recent studies show that many of them are successful inhabitants of disturbed, fragmented habitats. The source of this resilience is yet unclear, but it may be the byproduct of having a robust phenotype and/or the result of phenotypic plasticity. We then assessed the contribution of each by evaluating cytological features of two brain nuclei that modulate reproductive behavior and of the ovary, using female specimens of the frog Diaglena spatulata prospering in conserved and disturbed areas of a tropical dry forest. Our results in the brain show that the medial amygdala, but not the preoptic area, had a reduced size in frogs collected in disturbed forests compared to specimens collected in conserved forests. Both brain nuclei displayed, however, neurons with a reduced size in frogs captured in disturbed forest patches. In contrast, ovarian cytological features were similar between groups. Our preliminary results lead us to propose that Diaglena spatulata female specimens might combine robust ovary and plastic brain’s phenotypic traits to confront disturbed environments. This, however, is still a working hypothetical framework that needs to be experimentally confirmed.