Vector competence and innate immune responses to dengue virus infection in selected laboratory and field-collected Stegomyia aegypti (= Aedes aegypti).

Control of dengue virus (DenV) transmission, primarily based on strategies to reduce populations of the principle vector Stegomya aegypti (= Aedes aegypti) (Diptera: Culicidae), is difficult to sustain over time. Other potential strategies aim to manipulate characteristics such as vector competence (VC), the innate capacity of the vector to transmit the virus. Previous studies have identified genetic factors, including differential expression of apoptosis-related genes, associated with the refractory and susceptible phenotypes in selected strains of S. aegypti from Cali, Colombia. The present study was designed to evaluate the variability of VC in selected strains against different DenV serotypes and to determine whether field-collected mosquitoes respond similarly to selected laboratory strains in terms of enhanced or reduced expression of apoptosis-related genes. Vector competence differed between strains, but did not differ in response to different DenV serotypes. Differences in VC were observed among mosquitoes collected from different localities in Cali. The overexpression of the pro-apoptosis genes, caspase 16 and Aedronc, was conserved in field-collected refractory mosquitoes and the selected laboratory refractory strain. The results suggest that the apoptosis response is conserved among all refractory mosquitoes to inhibit the development of all DenV serotypes.

Contribuciones de las Ciencias Electrónicas al Problema de las Caídas en Población Adulta Mayor / Contributions of electronic sciences to the problem of falls of old age population

Resumen En este escrito se presenta un estado del arte sobre las contribuciones de las ciencias de la electrónica al problema de las caídas en población adulta mayor. La bibliografía estudiada se clasificó con base en una taxonomía propuesta por los autores consistente de 8 ejes temáticos que son: etiología, epidemiología, predicción, consecuencias, prevención, medición, detección de caídas y detección de actividades diarias. De la revisión bibliográfica realizada se concluyó que las contribuciones más importantes de las ciencias de la electrónica surgen tanto del desarrollo de dispositivos de captura de movimiento como de los diferentes algoritmos propuestos para procesar la información proveniente de estos dispositivos. Gracias a la combinación de estos dos aspectos (dispositivos y algoritmos) se han podido medir de manera precisa variables como velocidad de marcha, longitud y duración del paso, posición del centro de gravedad y balanceo postural. La medición de estas variables, a su vez, ha introducido avances significativos en la forma en que se realiza la valoración del riesgo de caída. Pese a lo anterior, existen numerosos interrogantes que aun deben ser resueltos, uno de ellos es: ¿cómo convertir la información cuantitativa asociada a la medición de variables biomecánicas en valoraciones cualitativas?. De lo anterior se derivan interrogantes más puntuales como: ¿cuáles son los límites aceptables para la asimetría de marcha? ¿Cómo determinar si un nivel de balanceo postural puede considerarse inseguro?

Abstract This paper aims to present a state of the art concerning the contributions of electronic sciences to the problem of falls in elder population. The studied literature was classified based on a taxonomy proposed by the authors, consisting of 8 thematic areas which are: etiology, epidemiology, prediction, consequences, prevention, measurement, detection of falls and detection of daily activities. From the literature review it was concluded that the most important contributions of the electronic sciences emerge from the development of motion capture devices as well as from the different algorithms proposed to process the resulting information generated by these devices. Thanks to the combination of these two aspects (algorithms and devices) it was possible to measure accurately variables as walking speed, length and duration of the step, position of the center of gravity and postural balance. The measurement of these variables, in turn, has introduced significant advances in the form in which the risk of falling is assessed. Despite the above, there are many questions that must still be resolved, one of them is: How to convert the quantitative information associated with measurement of biomechanical variables in to qualitative valuations? From the above, more specific questions arise as: what are the acceptable limits for the asymmetry of the step? How to determine when a level of postural balance can be considered unsafe?

Polirradiculoneuritis aguda sensitivo-motora axonal autoinmune en el seno de una enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal / Autoimmune acute motor sensory axonal polyradiculoneuritis in a case of inflammatory bowel disease

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[Testicular torsion before 6 hours. I]. / Torsión testicular antes de 6 horas. I.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics of testicular torsion within the first 6 hours, and to emphasize the need for early diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: The records of 33 patients treated for testicular torsion within the first 6 hours were reviewed. We evaluated the reason for consultation, previous patient history, clinical features, urinalysis findings, diagnostic methods and surgical findings. RESULTS: The most common reason for consultation was scrotal pain. Twelve patients had a previous history of ascending testis. Urinalysis was normal in 25 patients. Diagnosis was based on the clinical findings. Thirty-two testes were preserved. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis of testicular torsion within the first 6 hours are usually based on the clinical findings. Early treatment can achieve testicular viability.

[Testicular torsion between 6 and 12 hours. II]. / Torsión testicular entre 6-12 horas. II.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics of testicular torsion between 6-12 hours. METHODS: The records of 47 patients treated for testicular torsion within 6-12 hours were reviewed. We evaluated the reason for consultation, previous patient history, clinical features, urinalysis findings, diagnostic methods and surgical findings. RESULTS: The reason for consultation was scrotal pain in 42 patients; 17% of the patients had a previous history of ascending testis. Orchidectomy was required in 17% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: The need for performing orchidectomy is higher in cases with testicular torsion diagnosed between 6-12 hours. The results of urinalysis are generally normal. The clinical findings and the diagnostic techniques are useful in making early diagnosis and instituting early treatment.

[Testicular torsion after 12 hours. III]. / Torsión testicular después de 12 horas. III.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the damage caused by testicular torsion after 12 hours. METHODS: The records of 59 patients treated for testicular torsion after 12 hours were reviewed. We evaluated the reason for consultation, previous patient history, clinical features, urinalysis findings, diagnostic methods and surgical findings. RESULTS: The reason for consultation was scrotal pain in 81% of the patients: 61% were referred to the left testis. Seventeen percent of the patients had a previous history of ascending testis. Scrotal US was useful in making the diagnosis in 92% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Testicular damage or loss can occur if testicular torsion is diagnosed after 12 hours. The importance of early diagnosis and treatment is emphasized.

Urologic interconsultation in a general hospital: analysis of 100 consecutive consultations.

One hundred consecutive interconsultations were made on 89 patients during a two and a half month period to the Urology Service by physicians from a 970-bed General Hospital (excluding Uropediatrics, Nephrology and Renal Transplantation). Sixty percent were on males. The mean age was 61 (range 16-96 years) and 62% were 61 or older, a higher rate than that reported for an ambulatory population. Three consultations were considered inappropriate, and 37 urgent or very urgent. The most common cause was acute urinary retention (21%), followed by genitourinary bleeding (18%). Overall, catheters were involved in 35% of the consultations. The medical departments made 61 interconsultations, 33 came from surgical departments and 6 from the emergency department. The causes and implications of consultation are analyzed.

[Clinical course in patients with BPH operated for acute urine retention]. / Evolución de los pacientes con HBP operados por retención aguda de orina.

Between 1980 and 1990, 5,949 cases of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) were detected at the Puigvert Foundation. One thousand of them were randomized for analysis, and it was found that in 347 the indication for surgery was acute urine retention (AUR). During the initial visit the symptoms, their duration, creatinine values, correlation between creatinine and: 1) patients over 70 years, 2) relationship to prostate size, 3) distention of the upper urinary tract, 4) vesical lithiasis, 5) urinary infection, 6) complications, and 7) mortality were analyzed. Discussion of results, comparing these to other series and trying to find evolution differences between these patients and those operated by elective surgery. In our series, we only found statistically significant differences when correlating the high values of creatinine with the prostate size and the upper urinary tract distension.

[Determination of prognostic factors in incidental prostatic carcinoma]. / Determinación de factores pronósticos en el carcinoma prostático incidental.

Over a ten year period, 5,954 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were hospitalized in our Institution. Of these, 1,000 cases were randomly chosen for the present study. Surgery was performed in 930 patients: transurethral resection (TUR) in 665 (72%) and open prostatectomy in 265 (28%). The pathological analyses revealed prostatic adenocarcinoma in 36 patients (4%). Seven patients were excluded: 5 due to a short follow-up (less than one year), one who had died from pulmonary embolism immediately postoperatively and one who had developed metastatic disease a few months after the operation. The age of the 29 evaluable patients ranged from 53 to 91 years (mean 72.7 years) and the overall mean follow-up was 43 months. Eighteen patients staged A1 were treated conservatively and followed from 12 to 127 months (mean 53.5 months). Two patients (11%) showed progression, one locally at 42 months (5.5%) and one developed bone metastasis at 15 months (5.5%) and died at 27 months (Mortality: 5.5%). Of the eleven patients with stage A2 prostatic cancer, 7 were managed conservatively (watchful waiting), 1 underwent radical prostatectomy and 3 received early hormone therapy for undifferentiated lesions. Five patients progressed (45%), including the three patients treated with early hormone therapy, 3 local (27%) and 2 systemic (18%). Two of the 11 patients died from cancer (18%) and 2 from unrelated causes. The Gleason grading system and tumor volume (focal or diffuse) were compared as prognostic factors using the Kaplan-Meyer and log-rank test.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Acute epididymitis in children]. / Epididimitis aguda en niños.

The present study reports our experience with epididymitis in 18 boys aged 3-16 years. The diagnosis was made at surgical exploration in 12 patients under 10 years. In the remaining 6 patients over 11 years, the diagnosis was made on the clinical and scrotal ultrasound findings. All patients were treated with analgesics, ice bags, scrotal support and antibiotics. Children that consult for scrotal pain should undergo surgical exploration within 6 hours from the onset of pain if imaging by echo Doppler or technetium pernectate is unavailable.