Epikeratoplasty without sutures using collagen IV lens in monkeys: description of the surgical technic

The authors describe their original epikeratoplasty technic without sutures which is compatible with the use of collagen IV lens. They describe the first four observations of primates operated on using this technic. At first the epithelium is removed at the cornea center and a trepanation is made of 4 mm diameter and 0.1 mm depth. The bottom of the trepanation is then cut horizontally, and the periphery of the lens is put in the cornea stroma. Later the epithelium will recover the collagen lens. The lens is perfectly set in the cornea. We don't use any suture and so we avoid astigmatism and neovascularisation. The follow-up consisted of biomicroscopic examination photography, specular microscopy, pachymetry, photokeratoscopy (Nidek System) tonometry and histology. Clinical observance showed a perfect lens tolerance. The cornea is immediately transparent and within a week epithelial cells recovered the lens of three animals out of four. The photokeratoscopy study proved the important cornea refraction modification. This technic is reversible and the lens can be exchanged. A study of histology has begun and already shows a pluristratified epithelium. Further studies will test the biomaterial stability and ultra structural relations between the collagen IV lens and epithelial cells.     

Epidemiologic study of the mortality among the employees of a coal tar distillery

A mortality study was carried out, throughout the period 1970-1984, in a cohort of 963 men who had worked for at least one year in a coal tar distillery. The observed number of deaths, 109, did not significantly differ from the expected number. Using the death rates of the local population as a reference, no excess was observed for lung cancer and for cancers of the larynx, while there was an excess for cancers of the oesophagus but non significant and for cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx (SMR = 2.17 - p less than 0.05). A nested case-control study was carried out. From within the cohort, 5 deaths from lung cancer and 10 deaths from cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx were defined as "cases". For each case, all the available dead controls with the same sex, year of birth, tobacco and alcohol consumption were selected from within the cohort. The odds ratios for lung cancer did not reveal any occupational risk. With regard to buccal cavity and pharyngeal cancers, the odds ratios were neither significant for a duration of exposure greater than or equal to 1 year nor for a duration greater than or equal to 5 years along with a latent period greater than or equal to 10 years. Nevertheless there is a significant OR for exposure less than or equal to 10 years (OR = 7.56) but it is near one for exposures greater than 10 years.     

Discrimination of Strains of Salmonella enteritidis with Differing Levels of Virulence by an In Vitro Glass Adherence Test

The objective of this study was the in vitro differentiation of isolates of Salmonella enteritidis whose virulences differed in a chick model. A total of 14 strains of S. enteritidis were isolated from either the environment, dairy products, or infected patients. The isolates could be divided into two groups on the basis of their virulence (50% lethal dose) in chickens infected intraperitoneally. When the strains were incubated in adherence test medium (Spanish patent 9700408), only the virulent strains produced aggregates and formed visible filaments attached to the glass tube. These results suggest, although for a limited number of strains, that aggregation in such a medium could be used as a diagnostic tool to discriminate virulent strains of S. enteritidis.     

Nutritional characterization by anthropometrics of institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly Venezuelan

In order to evaluate nutritional status by anthropometry, a group of elderly (60 to 83 years old) was studied: 63 institutionalized and 37 non-institutionalized elderly from Valencia city, Venezuela. Weight, height, triceps skinfold and mid-arm circumference were measured and the body mass index (weight/height2) was calculated. The average age for the institutionalized group was 77.3 +/- 7.5 years old and 69.5 +/- 7.6 years old for the free-living elderly group. Tricipital skinfold (TSF) and mid-arm circumference (MAC) means were within the normal reference range for both groups, without significant differences by sex. Body mass index (BMI) was higher in the institutionalized group. Lower BMI and MAC were found in older elderly (> or =80 y). According to the nutritional classification by BMI, 16% of nutritional deficit, 45% of normal status and 39.7% with of excess weight were found in institutionalized elderly; while in free-living elderly, prevalences were 8%, 62% and 29.7% respectively. Even though normal nutritional status was highly prevalent, institutionalized elderly showed higher prevalences of nutritional alterations (underweight and overweight).