Accumulation, distribution pattern and potential contamination of sulphur in vineyard soils of the Valdepeñas protected denomination origin.

Soil is the basis for almost all global agriculture and the medium in which most terrestrial biological activity occurs. Viticulture represents an important agricultural practice in the Castilla-La Mancha (CLM) community. In this region, there are several protected denominations of origin (PDO), the largest being Valdepeñas. This paper describes the accumulation pattern of sulphur (S) in the vineyard soils of this PDO. Samples were collected from 90 vineyard soil profiles. Sulphur content was determined using an X-ray Fluorescence spectrometer in the solid mode on a powdered aliquot of each sample. The results indicated that the total S in soils varied from 0.54 to 6.90 (g·kg-1) in surface soil (0-30 cm) and from 0.39 to 2.80 (g·kg-1) on the subsurface layer (30-80 cm). When comparing the mean values of surface horizons to the subsurface horizons, S content lowered as soil depth increased. Kurtosis exceeded 45 % in all cases, which indicates a wide variability of concentrations. These findings can be explained by the continuous fertiliser and fungicide applications (and therefore S) in these production systems. Using the geoaccumulation index (Igeo), most soils were included in Class 0 (Igeo <0) and were, thus, S uncontaminated; only a few points can be considered pollutants. The obtained results should contribute to extend the scarce existing database on S in Mediterranean regions like that herein studied.

Environmental assessment of potential toxic trace element contents in the inundated floodplain area of Tablas de Daimiel wetland (Spain).

Contamination of aquatic systems with potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) is a major problem throughout the world. The National Park Tablas de Daimiel (NPTD) is considered to make up one of the two most important wetlands in the Biosphere Reserve called "Wet Spot." Since PTEs are good indicator of the prevailing environmental conditions and possible contamination, soil samples collected from 43 sites were analyzed in order to investigate the levels and its distribution of these elements, in the inundated floodplain area of the NPTD wetland. In addition, some physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity and organic matter were measured. The total concentrations of 32 trace elements were determined by X-ray fluorescence. The results show that there was accumulation of lead (Pb), tin (Sn), selenium (Se), antimony (Sb), copper (Cu), vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr) and zirconium (Zr)-in some cases at high concentrations. The interpolated maps showed that the distributions of some of these elements and in some cases the trend in spatial variability are pronounced and decrease from the inlet to the outlet. The values for some elements are higher than the reference values, which is consistent with contamination (some values are higher by a factor of more than 10 compared to the reference). In the case of iodine (I), the levels at some sample points are significantly more than ten times the reference; Se appears in the range from 1.0 to 9.8 mg/kg, with an average value of 3.1 mg/kg, and these can be considered as seleniferous soils. The concentrations found are consistent with the introduction in the wetland of pollution by human activities, such as agricultural non-point sources, uncontrolled fertilization over many years, treatment with urban wastewater and other possible sources.

A case control study on autopsy findings in sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome.

AIM: Sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS) has been linked to the Brugada syndrome. In some places, acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis is widely held to cause it. We conducted a systematic, controlled autopsy study on Filipino SUNDS victims to rule out structural heart findings as well as acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis as causes. METHODS AND RESULTS: A case control autopsy study was conducted comparing SUNDS victims between 18 and 50 years of age who died within 1 h of symptom onset with age- and gender-matched controls. There were 24 SUNDS (mean age 34.5 years) and 24 controls (mean 32.7 years). The autopsy incidence of structural heart disease was 8.3% (95% CI (1% to 27%)) and focal pancreatic haemorrhage was 4.17% (95% CI (0.1% to 20%)) but zero for true acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis among SUNDS victims. Autopsy findings in SUNDS versus controls were not significantly different from each other, showing no diagnostic abnormality in any of the organs. There was no significant difference in the incidence of acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis in both the SUNDS and control groups. We did not find fetal dispersion of the atrioventricular (AV) node, sclerosis or fibrosis of the AV conduction system, in a substudy of SUNDS cases. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that there is no significant difference in the overall autopsy findings between SUNDS and controls. Autopsy findings were normal in 70% of SUNDS; no cardiac structural pathology was found in 87% of cases. Haemorrhagic pancreatitis is the cause of death in a minority of SUNDS. The cardiac conduction system is normal in a subgroup of SUNDS studied.

Paraganglioma maligno extrasuprarrenal / Malignant extra-adrenal paraganglioma: case report

Los paragangliomas malignos extrasuprarrenales son neoplasis extremadamente raras (frecuencia diez veces menor que los feocromocitomas), con mayor incidencia entre las tercera y cuarta décadas de la vida, y que a menudo son multiéntricos y malignos. Se presenta un caso de Paraganglioma maligno extrasuprarrenal, destacando los hallazgos clínicos y anatomopatológicos, diagnósticos diferenciales y factores pronósticos

Paraganglioma maligno extrasuprarrenal / Malignant extra-adrenal paraganglioma: case report

Los paragangliomas malignos extrasuprarrenales son neoplasis extremadamente raras (frecuencia diez veces menor que los feocromocitomas), con mayor incidencia entre las tercera y cuarta décadas de la vida, y que a menudo son multiéntricos y malignos. Se presenta un caso de Paraganglioma maligno extrasuprarrenal, destacando los hallazgos clínicos y anatomopatológicos, diagnósticos diferenciales y factores pronósticos (AU)

[Gastric duplication of 3 observations]. / Duplicación gástrica a propósito de tres observaciones.

Gástric duplicación si an infrequent congenital malformation present in both, neonatal period and childhood, and exceptionally during adulthood. We present here there cases of gastric duplication from patients of different ages, in which it was not possible to make diagnosis before surgery. In all of them cystic form was the predominating one, without communication with gastric lumen (cavity). Diagnosis was performed after laparotomy and histopathological examination.

Duplicación gástrica a propósito de tres observaciones. / [Gastric duplication of 3 observations]

Gástric duplicación si an infrequent congenital malformation present in both, neonatal period and childhood, and exceptionally during adulthood. We present here there cases of gastric duplication from patients of different ages, in which it was not possible to make diagnosis before surgery. In all of them cystic form was the predominating one, without communication with gastric lumen (cavity). Diagnosis was performed after laparotomy and histopathological examination.

Uso de fórceps en la obstetricia moderna [simposio] / The Use of Forceps in Moderns Obstetrics [symposium]

Como suele ocurrir en el acontecer médico, el tiempo con su inexorable paso, fundamenta y sostiene lo que es útil y desecha o elimina lo que es nocivo, falaz o novelero. Así se ha escrito la historia en la cirugía y la tocurgia no escapa a este hecho. El uso del fórceps en la obstetricia de nuestros días tiene un lugar perfectamente definido que justifica el empleo de este instrumento antiquísimo, tradicional, útil e insustituible Todo médico ginecoobstetra que ostente el mérito de la especialidad, debe hacer recibido un entrenamiento suficiente y adecuado en el uso del fórceps y el saber usarlo abona méritos en su preparación y destreza, como antes lo mencionamos

Deep infection of the hand with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare: two case reports.

Two case reports of deep hand infections with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare are presented. Both occurred in elderly men. Aggressive surgical débridement combined with antitubercular chemotherapy resulted in an excellent outcome in both cases. Atypical mycobacterial infections should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any patient with prolonged and progressive tenosynovitis. A complete history, including temporally remote inoculation injuries or immunocompromised host status, should be elicited. Acid-fast staining and mycobacterial cultures, including reduced-temperature cultures, must be included in the diagnostic evaluation. Therapy should include immediate and aggressive surgical débridement, as well as appropriate chemotherapy.

Pharmacokinetic optimization of the treatment of oral candidiasis with fluconazole: studies with a suspension.

An open crossover study was performed in 12 healthy subjects to investigate the pharmacokinetics in saliva and plasma of a 100 mg oral dose of fluconazole, administered as either a capsule or as a suspension, the latter being used to rinse the mouth and retained for 2 min before being swallowed. In terms of fluconazole plasma concentrations the capsule and the suspension were essentially bioequivalent. While the saliva concentrations of fluconazole after capsule administration reached their peak at 3.0 +/- 0.8 micrograms/ml 4 h after dosage, administration of the suspension resulted in a mean peak concentration of 551.1 +/- 425.6 micrograms/ml 5 min after ingestion. The saliva concentrations decreased gradually after ingestion of the suspension, but were higher for 4 h than the corresponding levels from the capsule. The area under the curve (AUC) from 0 to 96 h of fluconazole in saliva was 227.7 +/- 73.8 h micrograms/ml after the suspension, compared to 123.5 +/- 25.5 h micrograms/ml after the capsule, indicating that the total drug exposure to the oral mucosa by the salivary route was enhanced more than 80% with use of the suspension. Four h after administration of the suspension, saliva and plasma concentrations of fluconazole were in equilibrium, at a saliva: plasma ratio of around 1.2. Taken together, the present results suggest that the treatment of oral candidiasis with fluconazole may be optimized by use of an oral suspension, as this delivers pharmacologically active levels of the drug to the site of infection by both topical and systemic routes.

El fenformin y la actividad fibrinolitica en la trombosis venosa recurrencial. / Phenforin and fibrinolitic activity in recurrent venous thrombosis

Se realiza un estudio con el objetivo de determinar el efecto del fenformin sobre la actividad fibrinolitica en los pacientes que presentan trombosis venosa recurrencial (TVRC). Se estudiaron 10 pacientes a quienes se les diagnostico dicha enfermedad en el servicio de flebolinfologia del Instituto de Angiologia en el periodo comprendido de marzo a septiembre de 1980 y que al examen de laboratorio presentaban alteraciones de la actividad fibrinolitica. Se determino el porcentaje de lisis de sangre total y la lisis de euglobulina antes y despues del tratamiento en cada uno de los pacientes, y se compararon estos dos grupos de valores, a traves del estadistico (no parametrico) para muestras pareadas, sin encontrarse diferencias estadisticamente significativas entre los mismos, aunque se observa tendencia al aumento de la actividad fibrinolitica despues del tratamiento

El fenformin y la actividad fibrinolitica en la trombosis venosa recurrencial. / Phenformin and fibrinolitic activity in recurrent venous thrombosis

Se realiza un estudio con el objetivo de determinar el efecto del fenformin sobre la actividad fibrinolitica en los pacientes que presentan trombosis venosa recurrencial (TVRC). Se estudiaron 10 pacientes a quienes se les diagnostico dicha enfermedad en el servicio de flebolinfologia del Instituto de Angiologia en el periodo comprendido de marzo a septiembre de 1980 y que al examen de laboratorio presentaban alteraciones de la actividad fibrinolitica. Se determino el porcentaje de lisis de sangre total y la lisis de euglobulina antes y despues del tratamiento en cada uno de los pacientes, y se compararon estos dos grupos de valores, a traves del estadistico (no parametrico) para muestras pareadas, sin encontrarse diferencias estadisticamente significativas entre los mismos, aunque se observa tendencia al aumento de la actividad fibrinolitica despues del tratamiento

Estudios de coagulación en pacientes sometidos a amputación mayor / Coagulation studies in patients submitted to major amputation

Se estudia una serie de 80 pacientes a quienes se amputaron miembros inferiores por causa vascular ingresados en el Instituto de Angiología desde mayo de 1979 hasta septiembre de 1980; 38 de ellos eran arteroscleróticos diabéticos y 42 ateroscleróticos no diabéticos. A cada paciente se le realizaron las siguientes determinaciones: productos de degradación del fibrinógeno (PDF); fibrinógeno, gelación con etanol; y lisis de euglobulinas, el día previo a la amputación, el día de la misma y los días 1ro., 3ro., 6to. y 9no. después de la intervención quirúrgica. Los resultados del grupo que presentó trombosis vascular (TV) intraoperatoria y los del grupo que la presentó posoperatoriamente se compararon con las del grupo que no sufrió complicaciones trombóticas, mediante la prueba de X2 (AU)