Assessing the exposure risk of large pelagic fish to oil spills scenarios in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Exposure risk is assessed based on modeling suitable habitat of large pelagic fish and oil spill scenarios originating at three wells located in the western GM's deep waters. Since the fate of the oil depends on the oceanographic conditions present during the accident, as well as the magnitude and duration of the spill, which are not known a priori, the scenarios used are a statistical representation of the area in which oil spilled from the well could be found, given all possible outcomes. The ecological vulnerability assessment identified a subset of bony fish with low-medium vulnerability and elasmobranchs with medium-high vulnerability. The oiling probability and exposure risk of both bony fish and elasmobranchs hotspots vary by well analyzed. Thus, these results provide essential information for a risk management plan for the assessed species and others with economic or conservation importance distributed in the GM and worldwide.

[Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication: results and prognostic factors]. / Fundoplicatura de Nissen laparoscópica: resultados y factores pronósticos.

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication is the technique of choice in the surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. AIMS: To review the cases of laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication carried out at our hospital and to analyze the prognostic factors that influenced surgical outcome. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 226 patients that underwent laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication within the time frame of 1996 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Surgical results and prognostic factors were evaluated in 182 patients that had a follow-up longer than one year. RESULTS: The Nissen-Rossetti technique was carried out in 219 patients, without short gastric vessel division, and the "floppy"-Nissen technique was performed on seven patients. Intraoperative complication rate was 3.1%, conversion rate was 6.6%, and postoperative complication rate was 4%. Mortality was 0. After surgery, 19% of patients presented with dysphagia that was persistent in only 3.5%. Of the 182 patients with a follow-up longer than one year, 166 (91.2%) were satisfied with the surgical results. In the univariate analysis, esophagitis (OR=0.59) was a protective factor, while a DeMeester score >50 (OR=1.97) and medical treatment resistance (OR=1.75) were risk factors. In the multivariate analysis a DeMeester score >50 (OR=4.24) was the only independent prognostic factor associated with poor outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our results with laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication are comparable to those found in the medical literature, with a high degree of patient satisfaction. Esophagitis is associated with good outcome, while massive reflux and medical treatment resistance are negative prognostic factors.

In vivo and in vitro control of Leishmania mexicana due to garlic-induced NO production.

Leishmania mexicana is the main causal agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico. Control of this disease is associated with a Th1-type immune response and garlic extract has been reported as a Th1 immunomodulator in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major. In this study, we investigated the effect of garlic extracts on L. mexicana infection in vivo and in vitro. Garlic extract reduced footpad lesions in L. mexicana-infected BALB/c mice by inducing IFN-gamma production from T cells. In vitro, garlic extract reduced macrophage infection through induction of nitric oxide (NO) production. Garlic extract may thus act on both T cells and macrophages to stimulate IFN-gamma production and NO synthesis for parasite killing. A 10- to 14-kDa fraction was identified as responsible for the in vitro effect of the whole extract and may lead to the identification of novel immunomodulating drugs and therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of leishmaniasis.

Effects of anxiety on analogical reasoning: a test of three theoretical models.

Three mediational theories of anxiety and performance, namely, cue utilization theory (Easterbrook, 1959), attentional theory (Mandler & Sarason, 1952; Wine, 1971), and working memory capacity theory (M. W. Eysenck, 1979), were compared for their efficacy in explaining anxiety-induced performance decrements on a task of analogical reasoning. One hundred two subjects who varied in their trait and state anxiety levels completed 100 geometric analogies under either relaxed (reassurance, non-time-limited) or stressed (ego-threat, time-limited) conditions. Response time and error rate data for nine levels of task complexity (1-, 2-, and 3-element analogies with zero, one, or two transformations per element) were analyzed by means of multivariate analysis of variance. Results in the relaxed condition supported attentional theory in that the more anxious subjects were both slower and less accurate than were the less anxious subjects. In the stressed condition, none of the three anxiety-performance theories was supported. More anxious subjects were faster but made more errors than did less anxious subjects. Thus in the stressed condition, performance differences suggested differences in speed-accuracy trade-off strategies rather than differences in processing abilities. The limitations of attentional theory and the need to study the effects of anxiety and time stress on information processing are discussed.