Systemic bevacizumab as adjuvant therapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in children: A series of three pediatric cases and literature review.

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a viral disease caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), is the most common benign neoplasm of the larynx among children and the second most frequent cause of infantile hoarseness. The course of the disease is variable; some patients experience spontaneous remission, while others may develop an aggressive respiratory compromise. Especially juvenile-onset RRP cases experience shorter intervals between surgical interventions and thus more surgeries overall, causing high rates of depression and voice-related quality of life. Various local adjuvant therapies have been studied with mixed efficacy and some early potential but have failed to show consistent effect across large cohorts of patients. Bevacizumab, a recombinant monoclonal antibody that inhibits VEGF, has shown efficacy in patients with rapid regrowth of papillomas with severe airway compromise, and/or distal multisite spread of disease. We present three juvenile-onset RRP cases successfully managed with systemically administered bevacizumab.

Positron emission mammography is a useful adjunct in assessment of dense breasts.

Worldwide breast cancer remains as the most common malignancy in women and the numbers who form a subgroup with dense breast parenchyma are substantial. In addition to mammography, the adjuncts used for further evaluation of dense breasts have been anatomically based modalities such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. The practice of functionally based imaging of breasts is relatively new but has undergone rapid progress over the past few years with promising results. The value of positron emission mammography is demonstrated in patients with dense breasts and mammographically occult disease.

Conditioning of desert sandy soil and investigation of the ameliorative effects of poultry manure and bentonite treatment rate on plant growth.

Soil is the base of any ecosystem since it conserves nutrients and water for plant roots including agriculture and plantations. In dry and semi-arid places across the world, including the UAE, sandy soils are common. Their fertility is extremely low, and production is hampered by a number of agronomic challenges. Soil conditioner sources like bentonite and chicken manure might be used to improve the poor sandy soil attributes and hence boost soil productivity. From November 2019 to March 2020, an experiment was conducted to investigate the growth rates of Bougainvillea following bentonite and chicken manure amendments to sandy soil taken from Lehbab, Dubai. Bougainvillea was evaluated for its plant height (cm), max length of primary branch (cm), the number of leaves per plant, number of secondary branches, shoot weight (g), root length (cm), root weight (g), root/shoot ratio, chlorophyll contents, and chlorophyll a* and b*. In this experiment, a complete randomized design (CRD) with five treatments was used (10 replications per treatment). According to the findings, bentonite and chicken manure additions considerably influence the productive properties of sandy soil, as indicated by Bougainvillea growth. Additionally, the research suggests that Bougainvillea may be efficiently planted with 10% bentonite and 15% chicken manure applied to sandy soil, resulting in the healthiest plants compared to other amendments.

Modelo Matemático de VIH bajo la Administración de un Antirretroviral / HIV Mathematical Model considering Antiretroviral Administration

RESUMEN En este trabajo se propone un modelo matemático consistente de cuatro ecuaciones diferenciales ordinarias que describen la evolución del VIH en un individuo seropositivo y el efecto de un antirretroviral en el proceso de replicación del virus en las células T CD4+. Con el propósito de determinar la efectividad del medicamento en el largo plazo se analizan los casos con y sin el tratamiento antirretroviral para observar el efecto en la población de células T CD4+ sanas e infectadas. Con el modelo matemático propuesto se encuentra un caso en el cual el tratamiento antirretroviral permite mantener una concentración de T CD4+ no infectadas clínicamente saludable en el organismo. Mediante la aplicación del método de Conjuntos Compactos Invariantes se establecen los límites máximos para las poblaciones de células sanas e infectadas, así como la concentración del VIH libre en el organismo. Finalmente, se realizan simulaciones numéricas para ilustrar los resultados en el plano temporal, se grafican las soluciones del sistema y los límites superiores obtenidos, estos permiten observar el valor máximo que pueden llegar a alcanzar las poblaciones de células sanas, las infectadas y la concentración de VIH en el torrente sanguíneo.

ABSTRACT In this work, we present a proposal of a mathematical model of four ordinary differential equations that describe the evolution of HIV in an HIV-positive individual and the effect of an antiretroviral in the process of virus replication in CD4+ T cells. In order to determine the long-term effectiveness of the drug, the cases with and without antiretroviral treatment are analyzed to observe the effect on the population of healthy and infected CD4+ T cells. With our mathematical model, we are able to obtain a case where the antiretroviral allows a clinically healthy concentration of uninfected CD4+ T cells. Additionally, by applying the Compact Invariant Sets method we determine maximum values for the concentration of free HIV and both cells populations, healthy and infected. Finally, we perform numerical simulations in order to illustrate our results in the temporal plane, we plot the solutions of the system and their corresponding upper bounds, the latter allow us to define the maximum values of the HIV concentration in the bloodstream and the infected and healthy cells populations.

[Identifying deletions in the dystrophin gene and detecting carriers in families with Duchenne's/Becker's muscular dystrophy]. / Identificación de deleciones en el gen de la distrofina y detección de portadoras en familias con distrofia muscular de Duchenne/Becker.

INTRODUCTION: Between 60 and 65% of the mutations that cause Duchenne's/Becker's muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) are deletions in the dystrophin gene. Identifying deletions confirms the diagnosis and allows carriers to be detected with precision, which is the main preventive resource. The frequency and distribution of deletions in the DMD gene is unknown in south-east Mexico. AIMS: To identify deletions in the DMD gene and to detect carriers in families with DMD/BMD in south-east Mexico. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved 26 families that showed clinical signs of DMD/BMD: Deletions were determined in the DNA of 40 males by means of the multiple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 22 segments of the gene. Detection of carriers was applied to 33 female relatives using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the polymorphic markers Pert 87.8/Taq 1, pERT 87.15/Bam H1, and single PCR for VNTR MP1P by linkage analysis. RESULTS: Deletions were identified in 67.5% of patients with DMD and they were located in the 5' end and in the central region, exons 44 to 52, of the gene. In the detection of carriers, 73.33% of the families were informative. The markers 87.8/Taq 1 and MPIP yielded the greatest information power, with 26.67 and 33.33%, respectively. Of a total of 33 females, 21 (63.64%) were carriers, one (3.03%) was a non-carrier and 11 (33.33%) were not informative. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of deletions was 67.5%. Carrier status was determined in 66.67% of the females who were analysed. The markers pERT 87.8/Taq 1 and MP1P yielded the greatest information power.

IgG is bound by antigen-antibody bonds and some IgG and albumin are bound by intermolecular disulfide bonds to cartilage in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

To elucidate the mechanisms for the presence of immunoglobulins and human serum albumin (HSA) in articular cartilage from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA), the recovery of these molecules was determined in several elution steps. These steps included serial elutions with a neutral buffer to extract entrapped molecules, elution with 6 M guanidine hydrochloride to extract molecules bound by noncovalent interactions, and digestion of cartilage with bacterial collagenase to release molecules covalently bound to cartilage matrix proteins. Significantly more IgG than HSA was recovered with 6 M guanidine after serial elutions with neutral buffer from the cartilages of patients with both RA and OA, consistent with the binding of IgG by antigen-antibody bonds. Degradation of cartilage with collagenase released additional IgG and HSA. Analysis of the IgG and HSA, recovered with guanidine or with collagenase, using SDS-PAGE and transfer blotting, indicated for the first time the presence of disulfide bonds between these molecules and cartilage matrix molecules.

[Cognitive stimulation workshops in old age: preliminary experience]. / Talleres de estimulación cognitiva en adultos mayores. Experiencia preliminar.

OBJECTIVE: To test the utility of cognitive stimulation in a group of healthy older people. DESIGN: A pilot study in 11 healthy women from Conchali council. All of them were evaluated before and after stimulation using Minimental State Examination of Folstein (MM), Memory Wechsler Scale (MW) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). PARTICIPANTS: Were selected from a group of regularly participants in center for seniors, aged 60 years or more (mean 66.6 years old), able to read and write (mean scholarship 5.3 years). INTERVENTION: 16 workshop of 90 minutes, twice a week during 2 months. They had motivation pantomime plays, memory activities and so on. RESULTS: Wilcoxon signed rank pre and post workshop for MM was -2.633 (p = 0.008), for MW was -2.938 (p = 0.003) and for GDS was -2.943 (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive stimulation could be useful in older people. It is necessary to increase the sample.

Persistent organochlorine pesticide levels in bovine fat from Mexico.

Organochlorine pesticides have been used in Mexico in agriculture as a seed dresser, in sanitation, in malaria control programmes and in livestock to combat ectoparasites. The pesticides applied drift to areas where cattle graze and plants grow. Because of their chemical stability, they accumulate in the lipid-rich tissues of the body. In the body, they circulate throughout all compartments and accumulate in adipose fat. The aim was to monitor the organochlorine pesticide levels in bovine muscle fat and kidney fat from cows living in an endemic malaria zone, where the environmental contamination can be suspected as being higher. Two hundred samples (100 muscle fat, 100 kidney fat) were analysed by gas chromatography. From the pesticides, only hexachlorobenzene (HCB), beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), gamma-HCH, pp'-1.1.1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT), op'-DDT and pp'-DDE, were detected frequently and at levels above the detection limits. The HCB mean level was low at 0.009 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis. From the HCH isomers, beta-HCH mean concentration was 0.039 mg kg(-1) and gamma-HCH was 0.025 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis. Among DDTs, pp'-DDT was the major constituent (0.032 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis) followed by pp'-DDE (0.025 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis) and op'-DDT (0.023 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis). The DDT total (sigma DDT) level was 0.067 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis. Comparing the previous study (1994) and the present one (2002-03), organochlorine pesticide levels were decreased. HCB decreased 3.7 times from 0.033 to 0.009 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis; beta-HCH decreased 3.8 times from 0.149 to 0.039 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis; pp'-DDE did not reveal a significant difference at 0.026 versus 0.025 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis. However, pp'-DDT decreased substantially, 6.7 times from 0.215 to 0.032 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis. The DDT total decreased 3.5 times from 0.236 to 0.067 mg kg(-1) on a fat basis. The tendency for reduced concentrations in organochlorine pesticide levels in Mexican cows is caused by their substitution with pyrethroids used in agriculture and by the Mexican Ministry of Health in sanitary programmes.