Medial tab-type fasciocutaneous flap as an alternative for the management of soft tissue defects of the leg. / Colgajo fasciocutáneo tipo lengüeta medial como alternativa para el manejo de defectos de tejidos blandos en la pierna.

BACKGROUND: Selecting the right technique for lower limb soft tissue reconstruction is a therapeutic challenge. Despite having several reconstruction options, it's important to choose a technique that is effective and with the least possible donor site morbidity. OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy of the medial tab flap in soft tissue reconstruction on the leg, compared to conventional flaps. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cohort study matched by age. 64 patients with soft tissue defects were selected and according to the intervention divided in: group 1)medial tab flap, and group 2)conventional flaps (sural, soleus, gastrocnemius) followed up to one year postoperatively. OUTCOME VARIABLES: surgical time in minutes, healing, healing time in days, complications. RESULTS: The patients who underwent surgery with medial tab flap and with conventional flaps healed completely. The healing time was 16.2±11.2 days in the tab flap and 16.1±11.2 days in conventional flaps, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups (P=.89). The surgical time for tab flaps was 225.2±117.8minutes, and 191.3±117.2minutes for the comparison flaps (P=.65), there were no statistically significant differences. There were no complications in the medial tab flaps. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the medial tab flap technique is as effective as the conventional flap technique, with complete flap survival and healing, and without any major complications in this studied group.

How to tackle the molecular species inventory for an industrialized nation-lessons from the first phase of the German Barcode of Life initiative GBOL (2012-2015).

Biodiversity loss is mainly driven by human activity. While concern grows over the fate of hot spots of biodiversity, contemporary species losses still prevail in industrialized nations. Therefore, strategies were formulated to halt or reverse the loss, driven by evidence for its value for ecosystem services. Maintenance of the latter through conservation depends on correctly identified species. To this aim, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the GBOL project, a consortium of natural history collections, botanic gardens, and universities working on a barcode reference database for the country's fauna and flora. Several noticeable findings could be useful for future campaigns: (i) validating taxon lists to serve as a taxonomic backbone is time-consuming, but without alternative; (ii) offering financial incentives to taxonomic experts, often citizen scientists, is indispensable; (iii) completion of the libraries for widespread species enables analyses of environmental samples, but the process may not hold pace with technological advancements; (iv) discoveries of new species are among the best stories for the media; (v) a commitment to common data standards and repositories is needed, as well as transboundary cooperation between nations; (vi) after validation, all data should be published online via the BOLD to make them searchable for external users and to allow cross-checking with data from other countries.

[Popular notions regarding "dengue" and "rompehuesos", 2 models of the disease in Colombia]. / Nociones populares sobre "dengue" y "rompehuesos", dos modelos de la enfermedad en Colombia.

OBJECTIVE: To deliver, through children, educational messages to families in Neiva, the capital city of the department of Huila, in Colombia. METHODS: An educational project was developed to include, in schoolchildren's natural sciences and environmental education curriculum, basic education on dengue, its vector, and its control. Through surveys and Likert scales, the knowledge and attitudes in the schoolchildren's homes were determined. This was complemented with open-ended interviews that reflected cultural aspects in the area of health and how dengue disease is a part of people's lives. Before and after the intervention, larval infestation indices were determined for the schoolchildren's homes. RESULTS: A cultural pattern was found for the disease that differentiated between rompehuesos (breakbone fever) and "dengue". Rompehuesos corresponds, in popular terms, to classical dengue, a disease that can be dealt with using family and community resources. Institutional medicine, by means of its health agencies and health workers, as well as the communications media, has managed to superimpose another model: that which is associated with dengue hemorrhagic fever. DISCUSSION: Alternatives are considered for prevention efforts that would be sufficient for the conditions in which the vector's cycle occurs in Neiva. Also presented are the community's disease model and the survey results. Together, these elements can guide the formulation and development of educational efforts.

Características de la población de roedores y pulgas en áreas de diferente riesgo para peste de tres provincias del departamento de Piura- Perú / Characteristics of rodent and flea population in areas of different risk for plague in three provinces of Piura departament - Perú

Objetivo: Identificar las especies de roedores y pulgas en áreas de bajo, mediano y alto riesgo para peste de tres provincias de Piura, determinando su distribución geográfica y densidad poblacional. Materiales y métodos: En este estudio transversal analítico del 2000 y febrero del 2001, realizándose la identificación de sus especies. Las localidades fueron agrupadas en tres áreas: bajo, mediano y alto riesgo para peste. Se tomaron muestras de vísceras de 382 roedores para el aislamiento de Yersinia pestis, mediante cultivo e inmunofluorescencia directa, y muestras de sangre en tiras de Nobuto a 376 roedores y 286 perros para evaluar la presencia de anticuerpos contra Yersinia pestis, a través de la prueba de aglutinación en látex. Se calcularon indicadores de densidad poblacional para roedores y pulgas. Resultados: Akodon sp. (50,4 por ciento) y Rattus rattus (32,5 por ciento) fueron las especies de roedores predominantes. 23 localidades tuvieron un índice de atrape de roedores (IAR) mayor a 5 por ciento. Pulex irritans y Ctenonophalides felis fueron las especies de pulgas más frecuentes. Xenopsilla cheopis sólo alcanzó un porcentaje de 0,2 por ciento no encontrándose Polygenes litargus. Los indicadores de densidad poblacional de pulgas fueron bajos. Todas las muestras para cultivo, inmunoflorescencia y serología resultaron negativas. Conclusiones: La población de roedores fue alta en 23 localidades, sin embargo, la densidad poblacional de pulgas y la ausencia de circulación de Yersinia pestis no indican riesgo para la aparición de brotes de peste.

Objective: To identify rodent and flea species in low, medium and high risk areas for plague in three provinces in Piura, determining their geographic distribution and population density. Materials and methods: In this transversal analytic study, rodents and fleas were caught in 80 sites from three provinces in Piura, Peru, between March 2000 and February 2001, and their species were identified. The sites were grouped according to three categories: low, medium, and high risk for plague. Samples from internal organs from 382 rodents were taken in order to isolate Yersinia pestis using culture and direct immunofluorescence techniques; and blood samples using Nobuto strips were taken from 376 rodents and 286 dogs in order to determine the presence of antibodies against Yersinia pestis, using the latex agglutination test. Population density indicators were calculated for both rodents and fleas. Results: Akodon sp. (50.4%), and Rattus rattus (32.5%) were the predominant rodent species. 23 sites had a rodent trapping index (RTI) higher than 5%. Pulex irritans and Ctenophalides felis were the most prevalent flea species. Xenopsilla cheopis reached 0.2%, and Polygenes fitargus was not found. The population density indicators for fleas had low values. All samples for culture, immunofluorescence, and serology were negative. Conclusions: The rodent population was high in 23 sites; however, flea population density and the absence of Yersinia pestis circulation do not indicate a risk for plague outbreaks.

Natural control of larval Anopheles albimanus (Diptera: Culicidae) by the predator Mesocyclops (Copepoda: Cyclopoida).

Forty-two ground water sites on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Colombia were sampled quantitatively with a plankton net to assess the abundance of mosquito larvae and associated fauna. Many of the sites contained substantial numbers of Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann larvae, but the larvae were virtually absent wherever there were large populations of the copepods Mesocyclops venezolanus, M. longisetus, or M. aspericornis. Mesocyclops were observed to prey readily upon first-instar An. albimanus larvae in the laboratory, but smaller genera of cyclopoid copepods did not kill An. albimanus larvae. We conclude that Mesocyclops may prove useful for biological control of Anopheles.

Population genetics in the American Tropics : 18. The genetic structure of peripheral Drosophila pseudoobscura from Colombia.

There are several Colombian populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura which have begun to show divergence. The temporal samples of Torobarroso, one of the local populations identified, demonstrate genetic "resourcefulness" and selective opportunism by fluctuating mortality. The data suggest that both balanced selection and mutational origin are necessary to account for the frequencies of drastic genes encountered. In genetic isolates there seems to exist alternatively a mutational component and a balanced - selection component. These components overcome the damage in the first instance and in the second instance, profit from the recessive load.