Scientific Representations at the UPR School of Tropical Medicine. IV: Special Technical Studies.

The essay examines the scientific representations that unfolded and evolved at the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949). This article on the STM's scientific endeavors is the fourth in a historical serial collection about the images and evolution of sciences at the institution and it portrays the diagrammatic representations of special technical research aspects and studies (i.e., personnel, epidemiology, methodology, animal studies, biology, field studies, treatment and immunology, and chemotherapy agents). The essay focuses on the emerged scientific representations and on the nature and evolution of sciences at the School, and has been divided into four sections: a) images of science, b) evolution during the first two eras, c) the third and last era unfolding, and d) special technical studies. In this paper the scientific representations have been brought about mainly through the analyses of research publications in external and local venues. The analysis of the STM's scientific evolution has been organized in three distinct historical stages: 1926-31, 1932-40, and 1941-49. These representations open an exploration pathway for a better understanding of the intricate interrelationships between the techné and the episteme horizons of tropical medical science in Puerto Rico.

Scientific Representations at the UPR School of Tropical Medicine. III: The Evolution of Science, the Last Era (1941-1949).

The essay examines the scientific representations that unfolded and evolved at the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949). It focuses on the emerged scientific representations and on the nature and evolution of sciences at the School, and has been divided into four sections: images of science, evolution during the first two eras (1926-31 and 1932-40), the unfolding last era (1941-49), and special technical studies. This article on the STM's scientific endeavors is the third in this historical serial collection about the images and evolution of sciences at the institution, and portrays the events and processes of the last scientific era. It analyzes the faculty's principal investigations, development of research programs, and concomitant scientific productivity and research outcomes. The scientific representations have been brought forth through the analyses of different sources: academic and research reports, and publications in external and local venues. The analysis of the STM's scientific evolution has been organized in three distinct chronological stages, while also considering other time evolving models (e.g., historical moments). The main themes of the collection are the scientific images and knowledge exemplars: the emergence of a tradition. An analytical framework of research schemas, exemplars of knowledge, and epistemes proved useful and constructive. These studies on the history of science allow for the postulation of an 'enriched thesis' on the different kinds of paradigmatic diseases of tropical medicine in Puerto Rico during the 20th Century, and enable further substantiation of the tropical obliviousness thesis.

Scientific Representations at the UPR School of Tropical Medicine. I: Images of Science.

The essay examines the scientific representations that prevailed at the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949). This article on the STM's scientific endeavors is the first in a historical serial collection about the images and evolution of sciences at the institution. It reviews faculty's principal investigations (by disciplines and research problems), development of research programs, and concomitant scientific productivity and research outcomes. The essay focuses on the emerged scientific representations and the nature of sciences, and has been divided into four sections: 1) images of science, 2) the evolution of science in the first two eras (1926-40), 3) the third and last era unfolding (1941-49), and 4) special studies. This first paper focuses on the scientific images that emerged from an examination of communities' interactions, networks, and academic and foundational documents. The scientific representations have been brought about through the analyses of different sources: academic and research reports, and publications in external and local venues. The most significant findings of this representational inquiry are: the idea of an academic tropical center in the tropics had a shared colonial-metropolis image; the community of common, but unequal, scientific citizens became an integrated epistemological community; interdisciplinary cooperation was the School's research dictum; and an image of a mature science and school of tropical medicine emerged. The richness and varieties of the practices and outcomes of science at the STM are analytically viewed as research schemas, exemplars of knowledge (paradigms), and epistemological fields (epistemes).

Scientific Representations at the UPR School of Tropical Medicine. II: The Evolution of Science, the First Two Eras (1926-31, 1932-1940).

The essay examines the scientific representations that unfolded and manifested at the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949). It focuses on the emerged scientific representations and on the kind of science practiced at the School, and has been divided into four sections: images of science, evolution during the first two eras (1926-31 and 1932-40), the unfolding third and last era (1941-49), and special technical studies. This article on the STM's scientific endeavors is the second in this historical serial collection about the images and evolution of sciences at the institution, and portrays the events and processes of the first two scientific eras. It reviews the faculty's principal investigations, development of research programs, and concomitant scientific productivity and research outcomes. The following historical sources were considered: academic and research reports, and publications in external and local venues. On findings, bacteriological investigations and studies on mycology and dermatological fungal infections characterized research during the first era. Parasitology became the hegemonic science of tropical medicine during the second scientific era, in conjunction with important studies on nutrition and streptococcal bacteriological infections. Variations of an earlier tropical medicine discourse of 'abundance of material for study' were: the socioeconomic toll of tropical diseases and a biopower exertion of induced recruitment of medical bodies. And public health field-community studies became a critical research approach at-end of periods. The evolution of science in the last and third era will be the main subject of the next article.

The Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (1925-1950): From a Health Department Bulletin to a UPR School of Tropical Medicine Scientific Journal.

This essay presents a history of the scientific journal of the University of Puerto Rico, School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University: The Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. This is the third article in a historical series about the STM, and includes supporting information relevant to the forthcoming articles on the school's scientific endeavors. This article is conceived as a history from the perspective of the literature of journal genre in the field of tropical medicine. The STM scientific journal, precursor of the Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal, had five main stages. First (1925-1927), originated as an official bulletin of the Health Department (Porto Rico Health Review). Second (1927-1929), became a project of mutual collaboration between the Health Department and the STM, and the publication's title reflected the fields of public health and tropical medicine. Third (1929-1932), acquired a scientific focus as it changed to a quarterly science publication. Fourth (1932-1942), became a fully bilingual journal and acquired its definitive name. Fifth (1942-1950), the final phase in which the first Puerto Rican Director became the principal editor until the Journal's dissolution. The analysis of authorship and the content analysis of the topics of diseases, public health and basic sciences, clarify the history of tropical medicine during the first half of the 20th century in Puerto Rico. The article highlights major symbolic events that delve into the understanding of a collaborative exemplar of the modernity of medical science.

Marvels and Shadows: Science and Education at the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine under the Auspices of Columbia University: An Introduction.

This essay introduces a series of five historical articles on the scientific and educational contributions of the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM), under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949), to the fields of tropical medicine and public health. The articles will appear in several consecutive issues, and will address various themes as follows: 1) historical antecedents of the STM, particularly institutional precedents; 2) the educational legacy of the STM; 3) a history of the STM scientific journal ("The Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine"); 4) the scientific practices and representations that prevailed at the institution; and, 5) a brief sociocultural history of malaria in Puerto Rico, mainly from the perspective of the STM's scientific and public health activities. The authors have systematically and comprehensively studied a wide variety of documents from different sources based on multiple archives in Puerto Rico, the United States and England. The authors treat the fluid meanings of the examined historical encounters from a research perspective that privilege complex reciprocal interactions, multiple adaptations and elaborate sociocultural constructs present in a collaborative exemplar of the modernity of medical science in a neocolonial tropical context.

The Historical Antecedents of the UPR School of Tropical Medicine.

This article deals with the historical antecedents of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University. It presents a general view of the social, institutional and conceptual factors that were correlated with the establishment of the STM. The authors start by examining the historical continuities and discontinuities present during the imperial transitions between Spanish colonial and U.S. military medicine at the turn of the 20th century. The clarification of these changes is important for the proper understanding of the emergence of tropical medicine in Puerto Rico, marked by the identification of the biological determinant of the so called "peasants' anemia." The essay focuses on two institutional precursor events: the Puerto Rico Anemia Commissions (1904-1908) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (1912-1914). Their nature and work paved the way for the establishment of the STM. The notions of tropical medicine and diseases are considered as historical concepts. The support of the Rockefeller Foundation to several significant public health activities in Puerto Rico is also examined. Finally, the social and health conditions which prevailed at the time of the creation of the STM have been summarized. In general, the article provides a sense of historical context deemed essential to understand the emergence and evolution of the STM.

Infección por VIH y SIDA: aspectos neuropsiquiátricos y Neuropsicológicos / HIV infection and AIDS: neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological aspects

The progressive confirmation of the neurotropic character of HIV, in juxtaposition to the recognition of AIDS dementia complex as an important central nervous system clinical manifestation, have engendered a greater interest in this phenomena. Consequently, a more precise description of the behavioral and mental aspects of this infection have evolved. This article has two purposes, to discuss the AIDS dementia complex concept and secondly, to review the neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological aspects of infection by HIV and AIDS, as it pertains to adult patients