[Medullar thoracic compression by tophaceous gout: presentation of a case and review of the literature]. / Compresion medular dorsal por tofos gotosos: presentacion de un caso y revision de la bibliografia.

INTRODUCTION: Spine involvement in gout is an extremely uncommon complication. Dorsalgia and quadriplegia are some manifestations that may occur, although these symptoms are seen more frequently in other more prevalent pathologies, such as spinal tumors. CASE REPORT: We present an unusual case of thoracic spinal cord compression at T10-T11 level caused by the extradural deposit of tophaceous material in a 52-year-old woman with uncontrolled chronic tophaceous gout. In addition to intensive medical treatment, the patient required surgery (hemilaminectomy and spinal decompression) and subsequent rehabilitation. Overall and neurological evolution were satisfactory.

TITLE: Compresion medular dorsal por tofos gotosos: presentacion de un caso y revision de la bibliografia.Introduccion. La afectacion de la columna vertebral en la gota es una complicacion extremadamente infrecuente. La dorsalgia y la cuadriplejia son algunas manifestaciones que se pueden presentar, aunque estos sintomas se ven con mas frecuencia en otras patologias mas prevalentes, como los tumores medulares. Caso clinico. Se presenta un caso inusual de compresion medular dorsal en D10-D11 causado por el deposito extradural de material tofaceo en una paciente de 52 años con gota tofacea cronica incontrolada. Ademas de un tratamiento medico intensivo, la paciente requirio cirugia (hemilaminectomia y descompresion medular) y rehabilitacion posterior. La evolucion general y neurologica fue satisfactoria.

Comparison of culture media for the recovery of airborne yeast in wineries.

The direct air sampling impaction method on agar was evaluated using aerobiocollectors for the recovery of yeasts present in the winery air. Three culture media with different composition and specificity were studied. In addition, a resuscitation phase was included before the culture in the specificity medium [in the case of the Dekkera-Brettanomyces Differential Medium (DBDM) medium]. Sampling was conducted at different times of the year and in different parts of the wineries, which were different in age and design. Both the Chloramphenicol Glucose Agar (CGA) and Agar Lysine AL media recovered yeasts from the air without any prior resuscitation phase. CGA was able to recover a higher number of colony-forming units of yeasts than the other media. Consequently, to estimate the number of yeasts present in winery air, the best choice of medium would be CGA. The AL medium permitted the growth of the greatest range of genera and species. If the aim is to study the diversity of yeasts present in the air, the most suitable medium is AL. Neither CGA nor AL proved suitable for recovering yeasts of the Brettanomyces genus. The DBDM medium was the only one which provided sufficient specificity for their recovery and identification from the air, although their special characteristics made a prior protocol of resuscitation necessary.

Factors of influence in the distribution of mold in the air in a wine cellar.

UNLABELLED: This paper studies the presence of mold in the air of a vinification and ageing wine cellar. The influence of other factors such as the time of year, the sampling point, and the activity being carried out in the cellar has been analyzed. Neither the type of activity being carried out in the cellar nor the temperature or relative humidity fluctuations throughout the year are determining factors in the presence of mold in the air. For this group of microorganisms, the design of the cellar studied is the fundamental factor. Areas with little ventilation favor high levels of relative humidity and, hence, a higher presence of mold in the air. The mold population in these areas is not very diverse, which indicates that colonization by certain types of mold that have adapted to the conditions established therein is permanent. Areas with greater air flow, constant activity, and frequent cleaning show lower mold populations in the air and of a more varied composition. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This work shows that given the growing importance of the presence of mold in wine cellars, the design thereof should take into account suitable ventilation of all the areas and control of the relative humidity. Hence, the presence of traditional underground areas for ageing wine, which is justifiable in seasons where temperature and humidity control lead to major technical problems, should be reconsidered in the design of new wine cellars.

Presence of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in cellar equipment and grape juice during harvest time.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the presence of different yeasts in the facilities of four wineries from the D.O.Ca. Rioja region in Spain. The study was conducted through the identification of the yeasts via the PCR-RFLP technique of the ITS region of rDNA. The diversity of non-Saccharomyces yeasts found in wineries has previously only been studied to a limited extent, despite the fact that these yeasts take part both in the start of spontaneous fermentation and in the changes which occur in the wines during their subsequent conservation. Most earlier studies carried out on cellar ecosystems have focussed on the clonal diversity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The results obtained in this study indicated that the presence of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in facilities is higher than that of the S. cerevisiae, with percentages of over 60% in all the wineries analyzed. Yeasts belonging to 10 genera and 18 species were isolated, but the only genera present in all four wineries were Cryptococcus, Pichia, and Saccharomyces. The Zygosaccharomyces bailii yeast responsible for taint was detected in one cleaned winery, in both the winemaking equipment and the fermenting must. It was also noted that the quantity and type of yeasts present in the facilities are related to the product used for cleaning them. It is also necessary to point out that the cleaning of the cellars prior to the reception of the grapes does not completely eliminate the yeasts present, so that these can subsequently become part of the vinification process.

Presence of lactic bacteria in the air of a winery during the vinification period.

In this paper we have studied the presence and evolution in the winery air of the lactic bacteria responsible for malolactic fermentation. Sampling took place during the winemaking process (between September 2007 and July 2008) in a winery from the Rioja appellation in Spain. The results obtained indicated that the presence of these microorganisms in the atmosphere was detected when grapes were entering the winery, while malolactic fermentation was taking place, and when liquid containing bacteria was manipulated. The species and clones of the lactic bacteria identified were also related to those present in the vinification tanks at any given stage of the process.

Successful pregnancy in a woman with acromegaly treated with somatostatin analog (octreotide) prior to surgical resection.

A 27-year-old woman with a GH-secreting pituitary macroadenoma was treated with continuous s.c. infusion of octreotide prior to surgical resection. Subsequently, she was found to be 6 months pregnant. Fetal echographs were normal, the newborn had no malformation, and postnatal development was normal.

p16/MTS1 inactivation in ovarian carcinomas: high frequency of reduced protein expression associated with hyper-methylation or mutation in endometrioid and mucinous tumors.

Inactivation of the tumor-suppressor gene p16 (MTS1/ CDKN2/INK4a) has been described in various human malignancies. Although p16 deletion has been found in various ovarian tumor cell lines, p16 inactivation by homozygous deletion or mutation has been reported only sporadically in primary ovarian carcinomas. In a comprehensive study, we analyzed p16 protein expression by immuno-histochemistry (IHC) on paraffin sections of 94 primary ovarian carcinomas of different histological subtype. Loss of expression was detected in 19 primary tumors (20%), mainly mucinous and endometrioid carcinomas. To reveal the cause of suppressed expression, we performed (i) analysis of homozygous deletions by comparative PCR after micro-dissection, (ii) mutation analysis by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and subsequent direct sequencing and (iii) methylation-specific PCR to determine the methylation status of 5'-CpG islands. Loss of or weak p16 expression was caused by hyper-methylation (12/19 IHC-negative cases), somatic mutation (10 tumors) or homozygous deletion (1 case). Aberrant p 16 results by one of these methods were detected in 71-79% of endometrioid and mucinous, but in only 10% of serous-papillary, carcinomas. Our data suggest that p16 inactivation is a typical feature of certain subtypes of ovarian carcinoma.

Magnetic resonance imaging features of chloroma of the shoulder.

A patient with a history of essential thrombocytosis presented with diffuse skeletal pain and restricted motion of the left shoulder. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the left glenohumeral joint showed a soft tissue mass that displaced the rotator cuff. Biopsy of the mass revealed chloroma. MRI is the method that best characterizes this lesion.