Impact of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Virus Infections in a Hematology-Oncology Unit at a Children's Hospital in Nicaragua, 1997 to 1999

The risk of acquiring both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in patients with hematological-oncological disorders has been documented. However, the impact and risk factors for such infections from different geographical areas vary, and the use of both immunological and molecular assays to determine HCV infections has been our approach. Children from a hematology-oncology unit (HOU) in Nicaragua were studied for both HBV and HCV serological markers; studies for the latter used both immunological (anti-HCV) and molecular (HCV RNA) assays. The children from the HOU included patients with leukemia, lymphoma, other neoplasias, and anemia and a smaller group with other hematological diseases. As a control group, children from other units at the same hospital were enrolled, as well as health care workers attending both patient populations. Pertinent clinical and personal data for each child at the HOU were obtained for statistical analysis. Of the 625 children from the HOU enrolled in this study 53.3% were infected with HCV and 29.4% had a prior or present HBV infection. In the child patient control group 3.2% had HBV markers and all were negative for HCV. The group of children with leukemia had the highest infection rate for both HBV and HCV. However, the determination of anti-HCV was found to have an overall low sensitivity in children from HOU, and a retest consisting of a molecular assay to determine HCV RNA was performed to better establish the total number of HCV-infected subjects in this group. The highest independent risk factor for infection was hospitalization. The very high prevalence rates for both HBV and HCV infection in this patient group indicate an urgent need to implement better control of known risk factors and to consider the use of both immunological and molecular assays for HCV diagnostic purposes.     

Vicker's hardness and Raman spectroscopy evaluation of a dental composite cured by an argon laser and a halogen lamp

We present the results of the Vicker's hardness test and the use of near-infrared Raman spectroscopy (RS) to measure in vitro the degree of conversion (DC) of a bis(phenol)-A-glycidyl-dimethacrylate-based composite resin, photoactivated by both a halogen lamp (power density=478 mW/cm(2); 8-mm diameter spot) and an argon laser (power density=625 mW/cm(2); 7-mm diameter spot). The degree of conversion was estimated by analyzing the relative intensities between the aromatic C=C stretching Raman mode at 1610 cm(-1) and the methacrylate C=C stretching Raman mode (1640 cm(-1)) on top and bottom surfaces. For the hardness evaluation, the samples were embedded in polyester resin and three indentations with a 50-g load for 10 s were made on the top surface. The higher relative DC values achieved by the photoactivation of a composite resin by the argon laser suggest a better biocompatibility in the bottom surface. The correlation test showed that the higher Vicker's hardness number (VHN) values were associated with higher DC values. The derivative analysis showed a greater curing rate from 5 to 20 s of exposure. The comparison of VHN and DC values with both light sources at each curing time showed that a small change in conversion is related to a large change in hardness. Raman spectroscopy is more sensitive to changes in the first stages of curing reaction than later ones, and the Vicker's hardness assay is more sensitive to changes in the last stages.     

Characterization of HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes expressing the mucosal lymphocyte integrin CD103 in rectal and duodenal lymphoid tissue of HIV-1-infected subjects

Acute HIV-1 infection depletes CD4(+) T cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). The failure of containment of local viral replication, and consequent CD4(+) T cell depletion, might be due to delayed mobilization of effector CD8(+) T cells or absence of functioning HIV-1-specific CD8(+) T cell effectors within GALT. No studies have addressed human intestinal HIV-1-specific CD8(+) T cell functions. We sought to determine whether functional HIV-1-specific CTL were present in GALT and whether the repertoire differed from HIV-1-specific CTL isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. From three HIV-1-infected subjects, we isolated HIV-1-specific CD8(+) T cells expressing the mucosal lymphocyte integrin CD103 from GALT. These antigen-specific effector cells could be expanded in vitro and lysed target cells in an MHC class I-restricted manner. HIV-1-specific CTL could be isolated from both duodenal and rectal GALT sites, indicating that CD8(+) effectors were widespread through GALT tissue. The breadth and antigenic specificities of GALT CTL appeared to differ from those in peripheral blood in some cases. In summary, we found HIV-1-specific CD8(+) effector T cells in GALT, despite HIV-1-induced CD4(+) T cell lymphopenia. This suggests that HIV-1-specific CTL in gut tissue can be maintained with limited CD4(+) T cell help.     

Photobiomodulation therapy on expression of HSP70 protein and tissue repair in experimental acute Achilles tendinitis

Lasers in Medical Science - The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy on the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and tissue repair in...     

Spinal organization and steroid sensitivity of motoneurons innervating the pubococcygeus muscle in the male rat.

Male rat motoneurons innervating the pubococcygeus muscle were located in the ventral nucleus of lamina IX at the sixth lumbar (L6) and first sacral (S1) spinal cord segments. Retrograde labeling with horseradish peroxidase-wheat germ agglutinin was transported up to second-order dendrites and revealed that these motoneurons have a "U-shaped arborization" of dendrites toward the intermediolateral and intermediomedial nuclei area of lamina VII. This dendritic organization makes a wide "final common path" that probably integrates afferent information from several sources, accounting for the participation of the pubococcygeus muscle in autonomic and somatic processes, such as those related to micturition and reproduction. Castration produced a decrement in the morphometry of these motoneurons. A main effect was a decrement in dendritic length. Steroid replacement indicated that testosterone and estradiol, but not dihydrotestosterone, are able to induce a recovery of morphometric alterations. However, estrogen induced recovery after 2 weeks of treatment, whereas testosterone took 4 weeks. Thus, it is proposed that supraspinal aromatization of testosterone in the male central nervous system might be an important process for the appropriate organization of the pubococcygeus muscle motoneurons and that estradiol seems to need a shorter time of action than testosterone because of differential up-regulation and down-regulation of steroid receptors.     

Cardiovascular Response and Anesthetic Recovery in Electroconvulsive Therapy with Propofol or Thiopental

Propofol provokes a slight hypotensive effect that could mitigate the cardiovascular response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In this study we compared the effects of propofol and thiopental for ECT anesthesia in seven women (22-67 years of age). Anesthesia was induced with either thiopental or propofol, and with atropine and suxamethonium for each treatment. The first anesthesia was assigned to thiopental or propofol at random; the next anesthesia was induced with the other drug, and alternated thereafter. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were recorded before anesthesia, after anesthetic induction, and 1 and 5 min after ECT. ECT-induced increases in DBP and HR were less marked with propofol than with thiopental. Seizure durations were decreased with propofol compared with thiopental.     

How do normal subjects learn a simple adaptative task: How and why do paranoid schizophrenic patients fail?

Summary The authors studied the behavior of normal subjects and paranoid schizophrenic patients in a simple problem-solving situation. The schizophrenics were divided into two sample groups, one of individuals under treatment and the other of individuals not under treatment.The learning process involved in this problem-solving situation is very similar to an instrumental conditioning, and can be understood by means of the following assumptions: (1) the subjects use decision functions in reacting to the stimuli, although they may be not fully aware of this; (2) learning is the result of successive transformations of these decisions in the course of time; (3) the changes have specific probabilities and are related to (a) those responses which are made to the latest stimuli, and (b) a differential probability for decision functions which were effective, or only interrupted painful reinforcement, or were completely ineffective.In schizophrenics further factors of importance were (1) an inertia factor and (2) the rigidly continued use of unsuccessful or only partially successful decision criteria.The authors used a systems theory based on Galois field theory and a calculus of operators specifying three groups of subjects. A computer program based on these hypotheses was tested in a simulation experiment.The statistical evaluation of the results showed a congruence between the theoretical approach and the experimental data.This work was carried out with financial support from the Institute de Alta Cultura, Lisbon, between 1970 and 1974     

Observational study of craniofacial growth and development in Mexican children

The election of a investigation about craniofacial growing and development in Mexican children, was done due to a lack of national information in this rubric and as a fundamental part of the "growing and development in the scholastic" module of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, which work hypothesis was that "craniofacial growing and development in Mexican, 6 to 12 children in Xochimilco area are due to nutritional deficiency, second dentition eruption delay and dental maloclution "which was totality confirmed in a 100 Mexican facial characteristic children field work study, with cephalometric studies which permit to determine the craniofacial growing standard. This study was corroborated with a 40 children, 4 years later follow up.     

The most recurrent monogenic disorders that overlap with the phenotype of Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome (RTT) is an early-onset neurodevelopmental disorder that is caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene; however, defects in other genes (CDKL5 and FOXG1) can lead to presentations that resemble classic RTT, although they are not completely identical. Here, we attempted to identify other monogenic disorders that share features of RTT. A total of 437 patients with a clinical diagnosis of RTT-like were studied; in 242 patients, a custom panel with 17 genes related to an RTT-like phenotype was run via a HaloPlex-Target-Enrichment-System. In the remaining 195 patients, a commercial TruSight-One-Sequencing-Panel was analysed. A total of 40 patients with clinical features of RTT had variants which affect gene function in six genes associated with other monogenic disorders. Twelve patients had variants in STXBP1, nine in TCF4, six in SCN2A, five in KCNQ2, four in MEF2C and four in SYNGAP1. Genetic studies using next generation sequencing (NGS) allowed us to study a larger number of genes associated with RTT-like simultaneously, providing a genetic diagnosis for a wider group of patients. These new findings provide the clinician with more information and clues that could help in the prevention of future symptoms or in pharmacologic therapy.