Operational impact of canine teams in the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia: review of their contribution, strategies and recent trends. / Impacto operacional de los equipos caninos en la lucha contra el narcotráfico en Colombia: una revisión de la contribución, estrategias y tendencias recientes.

As part of national and international cooperation to fight the drug-trafficking system, the Colombian National Police (PNC) has created institutional operational synergy to combat organised armed groups. To this end, it uses police service dog and handler teams which are distributed across Colombia in 75 canine units and which are specialised in different policing tasks. The focus of canine teams is to counter actions that undermine peaceful co-existence and citizen security by checking for explosive substances around coca, marijuana and poppy fields. In 2016, these teams discovered 16% of the 12,500 kg of improvised explosive devices, anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance (conventional guns and grenades) that were seized by the PNC. In addition, dogs have detected 19% of all controlled substances (cocaine, marijuana, heroin, coca paste and synthetic drugs) seized at ports, airports, land terminals and highways, striking a blow at drug-trafficking structures at all stages, from the illicit cultivation of drugs, through to their production, distribution, sale and use, countering small-scale dealing and the factors associated with drug-related social disorder. It is the responsibility of the PNC Police Service Dog and Handler Training School (ESGAC) to provide a framework for academic endeavour and technological advances aimed at achieving defined strategic roles for dog and handler teams. This involves the genetic selection and breeding of candidate detection dogs, assessment, training, operant conditioning, odour-discrimination during searches, certification, dog/ handler relationship, the dogs' living environment, and animal health, production and welfare management. All of the above is designed to achieve real, effective and successful outcomes when policing with dogs, enshrined within the national government's Vision 2030 project for safe and peaceful communities.

Dans le cadre de la coopération nationale et internationale contre les réseaux de trafic de stupéfiants, la police nationale de Colombie a mis en place une synergie opérationnelle institutionnelle contre les groupes armés organisés. Pour ce faire, elle recourt à des binômes d'intervention (un maître-chien et un chien) répartis en 75 unités cynotechniques sur tout le territoire colombien, spécialisés dans différentes tâches opérationnelles. La contribution des équipes cynotechniques consiste à neutraliser les activités qui menacent la cohabitation et la sécurité des citoyens, en détectant la présence de substances explosives aux alentours des champs de culture de cocaïne, cannabis et pavot, celles-ci ayant représenté 16 % des engins explosifs improvisés, mines antipersonnel et munitions non explosées (fusils et grenades conventionnelles) saisis par la police colombienne en 2016 sur un total de 12 500 kg. De surcroît, les chiens ont détecté 19 % du total des saisies de substances illicites (cocaïne, cannabis, héroïne, dérivés de cocaïne et drogues de synthèse) dans les ports, aéroports, gares routières et routes. Ceci atteint les structures du narcotrafic depuis les cultures illicites jusqu'à la production, la distribution, la commercialisation et la consommation tout en neutralisant le microtrafic ainsi que d'autres facteurs liés à la décomposition sociale due aux drogues. L'École de maîtres-chiens et de dressage de chiens de la Police colombienne prend en charge les efforts de formation ainsi que la recherche technologique afin que les fonctions stratégiques attribuées aux binômes soient réalisées avec succès. Ceci requiert la prise en compte de plusieurs aspects : la sélection génétique, la reproduction, les chiens potentiellement candidats pour être formés à la détection de drogue, l'évaluation, la formation, la gestion comportementale opérationnelle, la capacité de discriminer entre les odeurs lors des recherches, la certification, la relation entre le maître-chien et son chien, l'habitat, la gestion sanitaire et zootechnique ainsi que la protection du bien-être animal. Ces différents aspects sont destinés à garantir l'efficience et l'efficacité des résultats concrets obtenus par les services de la police cynophile dans le cadre de la stratégie institutionnelle 2030 « Pour des communautés sûres et en paix ¼.

En el marco de la cooperación nacional e internacional contra el sistema del narcotráfico, la policía nacional de Colombia (PNC) establece una sinergia operacional institucional contra los grupos armados organizados (GAO). Para ello, emplea binomios (guía-perro), distribuidos en forma de 75 unidades caninas por todo el territorio colombiano, especializadas en diferentes tareas del servicio. La contribución de los equipos caninos consiste en contrarrestar las acciones que afectan a la convivencia y seguridad ciudadana, controlando sustancias explosivas alrededor de los cultivos de cocaína, marihuana y amapola, en los cuales se ha logrado hallar un 16% de artefactos explosivos improvisados, minas antipersona y munición sin explotar (fusiles y granadas convencionales) de un total de 12 500 kg incautados por la PNC (año 2016). Además, los perros han detectado un 19% del total de las incautaciones de sustancias controladas (cocaína, marihuana, heroína, bazuco y drogas sintéticas) en puertos, aeropuertos, terminales terrestres y carreteras, golpeando así las estructuras narcotraficantes desde los cultivos ilícitos, la producción, la distribución, la comercialización y el consumo, y contrarrestando el microtráfico y los factores asociados a la descomposición social de las drogas. Son responsabilidad de la Escuela de Guías y Adiestramiento Canino de la institución los esfuerzos académicos y avances tecnológicos que propenden a lograr roles estratégicos definidos para los binomios, para los cuales son necesarios la selección genética, la cría, los perros detectores aspirantes, la evaluación, la formación, el manejo comportamental operativo, la discriminación de olores durante la búsqueda, la certificación, la relación guía perro, su hábitat, y el manejo sanitario, zootécnico y relativo al bienestar animal. Todo lo anterior va destinado a lograr resultados efectivos, eficientes y eficaces en el servicio de policía con caninos en el marco de la visión institucional 2030 «Comunidades Seguras y en Paz¼.

Fever in acute pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUND: Although fever has been reported in several case series of acute pulmonary embolism (PE), the extent to which fever may be caused by PE, and not associated disease, has not been adequately sorted out. Clarification of the frequency and severity of fever in acute PE may assist in achieving an accurate clinical impression, and perhaps avoid an inadvertent exclusion of the diagnosis. PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the extent to which fever is caused by acute PE. METHODS: Patients participated in the Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis (PIOPED). Temperature was evaluated among patients with angiographically proven PE. A determination of whether other causes of fever were present was based on a retrospective analysis of discharge summaries, PIOPED summaries, and a computerized list of all discharge diagnoses. RESULTS: Among patients with PE and no other source of fever, fever was present in 43 of 311 patients (14%). Fever in patients with pulmonary hemorrhage or infarction was not more frequent than among those with no pulmonary hemorrhage or infarction, 39 of 267 patients (15%) vs 4 of 44 patients (9%; not significant). Clinical evidence of deep venous thrombosis was often present in patients with PE and otherwise unexplained fever. CONCLUSION: Low-grade fever is not uncommon in PE, and high fever, although rare, may occur. Fever need not be accompanied by pulmonary hemorrhage or infarction.

Topical nystatin powder in severe burns: a new treatment for angioinvasive fungal infections refractory to other topical and systemic agents.

Angioinvasive fungal infections have a significant morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised host. Massive burns produce a profound derangement in cellular immunity along with a loss of cutaneous barrier function. Treatment of fungal burn wound infections poses a difficult therapeutic challenge. We present a new method of treatment for angioinvasive fungal infections with nystatin powder at a concentration of 6,000,000 units/g. It proved to be efficacious in four consecutive severely burned patients affected by massive angioinvasive fungal infection. Both superficial and deep tissue infections were eradicated without any other therapeutic interventions or adverse effects on wound healing.

Diagnostic tests for amoebic liver abscess: comparison of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE).

The liver abscess is the most frequent extraintestinal complication of intestinal amoebiasis: its diagnosis is suggested by the clinical picture but it must be confirmed by paraclinic tests. Themost stringent diagnosis requires identification of E. histolytica. But this is possible only in a few cases. Serological tests greatly improve the diagnosis of this severe complication of amoebiasis. We compared the Enzyme Linfed Immunosorbent Assay and the Counterimmunoelectrophoresis techniques. Both techniques were used to detect amoebic antibodies in 50 control patients, 30 patients with liver abscess and 30 patients with intestinal amoebiasis. All the sera from control patients gave negative results in both techniques. When analysing the sera from patients with intestinal amoebiasis, 10% of them were positive by ELISA but non by CIE. The sera of patients with liver abscess, we found that 90% were positive by the ELISA method and 66.6% by the CIE technique. In patients with amoebic liver abscess, the results showed that the ELISA was more sensitive than the CIE, as it presented a higher sensitivity (100%) than that of the CIE technique (66%).

Classification of cultivated rices into indica and japonica types by the isozyme, RFLP and two milled-rice methods.

Four methods for classifying cultivated rices (Oryza sativa L.) (including IR varieties) into indica and japonica types - waxy gene product in endosperm starch, glutelin α3 molecular weight in milled rice, RFLP polymorphism at the Wx locus and Glaszmann's isozyme method - were compared. On the basis of the two endosperm traits and the RFLP method Glaszmann's group 1 (indica) was classified as mainly indica and intermediate groups 2, 3 and 4 as exclusively indica. However, the endosperm traits classified Glaszmann's group 5 as mainly indica, while the RFLP method classified it as japonica. The RFLP waxy gene probe was closest to the isozyme method in classifying group 6 as japonicas; the waxy gene product gave mainly indica reaction even in group 6, and the glutelin α3 method was intermediate. All IR rices were classified as being indica on the basis of Wx gene product and by Glaszmann's method, but a few were classified as japonica by the glutelin α3 method and by the RFLP waxy gene probe.

Transmission of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis among persons with human immunodeficiency virus infection in an urban hospital: epidemiologic and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

From January 1990 to December 1991, 16 patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to isoniazid, rifampin, and streptomycin were diagnosed at Elmhurst Hospital. Compared with other TB patients, MDR-TB patients were more likely to have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (14/16 vs. 21/204, P < .001) and a prior admission (10/16 vs. 3/204, P < .001). HIV-infected patients hospitalized for > 10 days within three rooms of an infectious MDR-TB patient had higher risk of acquiring MDR-TB than did HIV-infected patients with shorter hospitalizations or locations further from the MDR-TB patient(s) (6/28 vs. 2/90, P < .001). Isolates of 6 of 8 MDR-TB patients in a chain of transmission were identical by restriction fragment length polymorphism DNA typing. Ambulation on the wards of inadequately masked TB patients and lack of negative pressure in isolation rooms probably facilitated transmission. This report documents nosocomial transmission of MDR-TB and underscores the need for effective isolation practices and facilities in health care institutions.

Effect of head elevation on intracranial pressure, cerebral perfusion pressure, and cerebral blood flow in head-injured patients.

The traditional practice of elevating the head in order to lower intracranial pressure (ICP) in head-injured patients has been challenged in recent years. Some investigators argue that patients with intracranial hypertension should be placed in a horizontal position, the rationale being that this will increase the cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) and thereby improve cerebral blood flow (CBF). However, ICP is generally significantly higher when the patient is in the horizontal position. This study was undertaken to clarify the issue of optimal head position in the care of head-injured patients. The effect of 0 degree and 30 degrees head elevation on ICP, CPP, CBF, mean carotid pressure, and other cerebral and systemic physiological parameters was studied in 22 head-injured patients. The mean carotid pressure was significantly lower when the patient's head was elevated at 30 degrees than at 0 degrees (84.3 +/- 14.5 mm Hg vs. 89.5 +/- 14.6 mm Hg), as was the mean ICP (14.1 +/- 6.7 mm Hg vs. 19.7 +/- 8.3 mm Hg). There was no statistically significant change in CPP, CBF, cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen, arteriovenous difference of lactate, or cerebrovascular resistance associated with the change in head position. The data indicate that head elevation to 30 degrees significantly reduced ICP in the majority of the 22 patients without reducing CPP or CBF.

Grain quality of rices grown in irrigated and upland cultures.

Upland culture of nine varieties at Ivory Coast resulted in decreases in grain weight, brown and milled rice translucency, Chroma meter L* of rough rice, Chroma meter L* and b* of milled rice, milled rice protein, and Amylograph peak viscosity, and in increases in total phenolics of hull and brown rice, and Chroma meter a* of rough, brown, and milled rice of 5 to 8 of the varieties as compared with irrigated culture. Upland culture had no consistent effect on grain resistance to Angoumois grain moth (Sitotraga cerealella).

Variability in contents of thiamine and riboflavin in brown rice, crude oil in brown rice and bran-polish, and silicon in hull of IR rices.

Among 30 IR varieties, variety had greater effect on thiamine content of brown rice than season. Both season and variety affected riboflavin content. Purple- and red-pericarped Philippines rices had higher riboflavin and crude protein contents than IR rices. Crude oil contents of brown rice and bran-polish of 19 IR rices were significantly affected by variety, but only brown rice oil content was significantly affected by season. Bran-polish of waxy rice IR29 had the highest oil content. Silicon content of hull of 16 IR rices showed significant variation due to variety and season and tended to be higher in the dry season crop. Variety rankings in nutrient composition were not consistent for the two crops. The levels of nutrients of IR rices were within the range of values reported for other rices.

Localization of 3H-estradiol in the uterus of pregnant and non-pregnant armadillos.

The uptake and retention of radiolabeled estradiol by the uterus was examined in the armadillo. One pregnant and two non-pregnant armadillos were treated with 1.4 micrograms/kg body weight of 3H-estradiol (E2) by injection into the left ventricle, and one non-pregnant animal was injected with both the labeled hormone and 140 micrograms/kg body weight of unlabeled E2. One and a half hour after injection, the animals were sacrificed and the uteri were removed and processed for autoradiography. In the non-pregnant animals, nuclear localization was observed in the interstitial cells and glandular epithelium of the endometrium and the connective tissue cells and smooth muscle of the myometrium. Additionally, there was a gradation of uptake in the epithelial cells of the endometrium in that the glandular cells of the basal region were heavily labeled, while those cells in the sinusoidal, and luminal regions contained successively less label. The luminal cells were poorly labeled. In the pregnant female, the smooth muscle and glandular cells hypertrophied and their nuclei contained less label than was observed in the non-pregnant animals. The arteries of the myometrium were more easily distinguished in the pregnant animals and the nuclei of the endothelial cells and smooth muscle were more consistently labeled than those of the non-pregnant armadillos.U