Current Situation of Congenital Toxoplasmosis in Ecuador.

Congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) is a zoonosis resulting from the fetal transmission of the obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii, transplacentally in pregnant women usually in the first trimester of pregnancy. This research consisted in the review of indexed articles made in the Ecuador in the period between the years 2012 and 2017 with prevalence studies of the aforementioned pathology. The purpose of this collection was to determine the current situation of this disease in the Ecuadorian territory and, in addition, to recognize the risk factors involved, affected age groups, signs and symptoms, diagnosis and prevalence of the infection. Among the risk factors were the consumption of raw or undercooked meat, contact with feces of young cats and climatic conditions that stimulate the spread of oocysts, among others. Most affected ages by this disease fluctuate between 20 and 30 years. In 90% of the cases, the disease is asymptomatic or it may present adenopathies, maculo papular erythema, hepatosplenomegaly and other general signs such as fever, malaise, headache and myalgias. According to studies conducted with specific populations, it was established that the causative agent remains latent in first-trimester pregnant women from the provinces of Pichincha (71.4% of 140 pregnant women), Guayas (73% of 5683) and El Oro (16% of 250). The results of this research evidenced missing information in Ecuador, finding few and isolated studies regarding to this pathology. Therefore, it is concluded that an updated research should be conducted in order to elucidate the true epidemiological situation of congenital toxoplasmosis in Ecuador.

Optimal Phase-Control Strategy for Damped-Driven Duffing Oscillators.

Phase-control techniques of chaos aim to extract periodic behaviors from chaotic systems by applying weak harmonic perturbations with a suitably chosen phase. However, little is known about the best strategy for selecting adequate perturbations to reach desired states. Here we use experimental measures and numerical simulations to assess the benefits of controlling individually the three terms of a Duffing oscillator. Using a real-time analog indicator able to discriminate on-the-fly periodic behaviors from chaos, we reconstruct experimentally the phase versus perturbation strength stability areas when periodic perturbations are applied to different terms governing the oscillator. We verify the system to be more sensitive to perturbations applied to the quadratic term of the double-well Duffing oscillator and to the quartic term of the single-well Duffing oscillator.

Nucleosome loss facilitates the chemotactic response of macrophages.

BACKGROUND: High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a small nuclear protein with two functions. In the nucleus, it helps to wrap DNA around nucleosomes. When secreted, it recruits inflammatory cells and induces cytokine production. Before HMGB1 is secreted from inflammatory cells, it relocates to the cytoplasm, which partially or totally depletes cell nuclei of HMGB1. We previously showed that cells lacking HMGB1 contain 20% fewer nucleosomes and 30% more RNA transcripts levels genome-wide. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that the depletion of nuclear HMGB1 plays a role in inflammation that can enhance or complement the role of extracellular HMGB1. METHODS: We analysed the transcriptional profile of wild-type and Hmgb1-/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) as a proxy for cells that have lost HMGB1 from their nuclei. We explored the transcriptome of wild-type and Hmgb1-/- macrophages differentiated in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, before and after exposure to LPS/IFN-γ. In the same cells, histones and nuclear HMGB1 were quantified. RESULTS: We found that Hmgb1-/- MEFs show a transcriptional profile associated with stress and inflammation responses. Moreover, wild-type macrophages that have secreted HMGB1 because of LPS/IFN-γ exposure rapidly reduce their histone content as much as cells that genetically lack HMGB1. Importantly, unstimulated Hmgb1-/- macrophages activate transcriptional pathways associated with cell migration and chemotaxis. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that nucleosome loss is an early event that facilitates transcriptional responses of macrophages to inflammation, particularly chemotaxis. HMGB1's dual roles in the nucleus and in the extracellular space appear to be complementary.

Interprofessional interventions and factors that improve end-of-life care in intensive care units: An integratory review.

INTRODUCTION: The changes in health dynamics, caused by the SARS-COVD-2 pandemic and its consequences, generated a greater need to integrate palliative care in the ICU to promote a dignified death. OBJECTIVE: Identify interprofessional interventions and factors that improve the care of patients at the end of life. METHODOLOGY: Integrative review, including experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, analytical, and descriptive studies with correlation of variables, published from 2010 to 2021, identified in COCHRANE, CINAHL, CUIDEN, LILACS, SCIELO, Dialnet, PsychInfo, PubMed, PROQUES, PSYCHOLOGY, JOURNALS, SCIENCEDIRECT, with MeSH/DECS terms: "Critical Care", "IntensiveCare" "Life support care", "Palliative care", "Life Quality", "Right to die". 36,271 were identified, after excluding duplicate title, abstract, year of publication, design, theme, methodological quality, objectives, and content, 31 studies were found. RESULTS: It included 31 articles, 16.7% experimental, 3.3% quasi-experimental, 80% observational, analytical, and descriptive with correlation of variables, 38% published in the United States, 38%, and 19% in Brazil. The pooled sample was 24,779 participants. 32.2% of the studies had level of evidence 1 recommendation (c), and 25.8% level of evidence 2 recommendation (c). This paper synthesises evidence to promote Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in the ICU, improve end-of-life care, and interventions to achieve established therapeutic goals, implement effective care policies, plans, and programmes for critically ill patients and their families; factors that affect palliative care and improve with training and continuing education for health personnel. CONCLUSION: There are interventions to manage physical and emotional symptoms, training strategies and emotional support aimed at health personnel and family members to improve the quality of death and reduce stays in the ICU. The interdisciplinary team requires training on palliative and end-of-life care to improve care.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in Peru: A molecular description of an unconventional clinical presentation.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most frequent cancer of digestive tract tumors in Peru, with a high mortality rate of 17.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. A significant number of HCC cases in Peru do not follow the classic clinical epidemiology of the disease described in other parts of the world. Those patients present with a distinct transcriptome profile and a singular tumor process, suggesting a particular type of hepatocarcinogenesis in a portion of the Peruvian population. Our aim was to understand the clinical and biologic involvement of the epigenetic profile (methylation) and gene expression (transcriptome) of HCC in Peruvian patients. METHODS: HCC and liver transcriptome and DNA methylation profiles were evaluated in 74 Peruvian patients. RESULTS: When grouped by age, there was greater DNA methylation in younger patients with HCC but no differences with respect to the transcriptomic profile. A high prevalence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) (>90%) was also observed in the younger patients with HCC. Enrichment analyses in both molecular profiles pinpointed PRC2 as an important molecular effector of that liver tumor process in Peruvian patients. CONCLUSION: HCC in Peruvian patients has a unique molecular profile, associated with the presence of HBV, as well as overall DNA hypermethylation related to undifferentiated liver cells or cellular reprogramming.

SELNET clinical practice guidelines for bone sarcoma.

Bone sarcoma are infrequent diseases, representing < 0.2% of all adult neoplasms. A multidisciplinary management within reference centers for sarcoma, with discussion of the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies within an expert multidisciplinary tumour board, is essential for these patients, given its heterogeneity and low frequency. This approach leads to an improvement in patient's outcome, as demonstrated in several studies. The Sarcoma European Latin-American Network (SELNET), aims to improve clinical outcome in sarcoma care, with a special focus in Latin-American countries. These Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) have been developed and agreed by a multidisciplinary expert group (including medical and radiation oncologist, surgical oncologist, orthopaedic surgeons, radiologist, pathologist, molecular biologist and representatives of patients advocacy groups) of the SELNET consortium, and are conceived to provide the standard approach to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of bone sarcoma patients in the Latin-American context.

Perspective of health personnel on end-of-life care in Intensive Care Units. / Perspectiva de los profesionales de la salud sobre cuidados al final de la vida en unidades de cuidados intensivos.

OBJECTIVE: To understand for what care of the patient at the end of life and their relatives means to ICU health professionals. METHODS: Qualitative study with a Research-Action (AI) design, in two intensive care units of the city of Bogotá. Groups were formed in each unit and each group included at least six health professionals, the data collection techniques were: 4 participative assemblies and 6 clinical narratives, the data analysis was done through the preparation of the data, discovery of topics, coding and interpretation of data, relativisation and rigour of the data. RESULTS: 20 ICU workers participated, the analysis of the data revealed four thematic categories: Multidisciplinary team of the ICU facing the end-of-life process, Management of critical patients and their families at the end of life in the ICU, Communication process between the patient, family and multidisciplinary team at the end of life, Ethical aspects at the end of life in the ICU CONCLUSIONS: The professionals consider preserving quality of life during the patient's stay in the ICU a therapeutic objective. The development of evidence-based guidelines that facilitate multidisciplinary management at the end of life, customisation of care, effective communication, fulfilling the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the person and their family and favouring the patient's right of autonomy in decision making.

Cardiac effects of hemodialysis: noninvasive monitoring by systolic time intervals.

The effects of hemodialysis on cardiac performance were evaluated by systolic time intervals measured blindly in 15 chronic renal failure patients maintained free of circulatory congestion. After a mean dialysis of 8.7 hours, levels of blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinin, and potassium and body weight showed statistically significant decreases and serum calcium and hematocrit values increased; heart rate and both diastolic and systolic blood pressure did not change significantly. Left ventricular ejection time (LVET) and ejection time index (ETI) were significantly shorter, falling from within normal limits to below normal. Pre-ejection period (PEP) rose significantly. These changes are consistent with a two-fold immediate effect of hemodialysis: (1) reduction of stroke volume as reflected by decreased ETI; and (2) reduced Starling effect, with or without decreased contractility, as reflected by increased PEP.

Horizontal appendicular dysmetria in four patients with a typical Wallenberg's syndrome.

During the acute stage of a Wallenberg's syndrome ipsilateral appendicular dysmetria is frequently seen. The dysmetria is more apparent in the ipsilateral upper extremity. These patients also have a peculiar type of dysmetric eye movements that are characterized by hypermetric saccades toward the side of the lesion and hypometric saccades to the opposite side. We examined four patients with acute Wallenberg's syndrome and found horizontal dysmetria of the affected extremity. Hypermetric arm and hand movements were present to the side of the lesion and hypometric movements toward the opposite side. This type of dysmetria is probably related to the same patophysiological mechanism that underlies dysmetric eye movements in the Wallenberg's syndrome. The dysmetria tends to disappear with time although it continues to be present in some patients six months after the ischemic damage.

[Hemophilic arthropathy. The therapeutic approaches in the clinical picture of hemophilia]. / Artropatía hemofílica. Enfoques terapéuticos en la clínica de hemofilia.

The ambulatory treatment of hemophilic arthropathy decreased the amount of replacement therapy with factor VIII from 3,220,000 U in 1984 to 2,217,700 U (32%) in 1988. Radioactive synovectomy diminished the number of hemarthroses in 97 per cent. Intraarticular dexamethasone reduced bleeding episodes and improved joint function in 48 per cent. These procedures for hemophilic arthropathy allowed to integrate the patient into society and diminished transfusion risks.

[Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type II A: early neurological and skeletal findings]. / Neuropatía sensitiva autonómica hereditaria tipo IIA: manifestaciones neurológicas y esqueléticas tempranas.

The hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies are genetic disorders characterized by the loss of sensation including pain, tactile and temperature. Its clinical and molecular features vary widely; the symptoms may begin from birth or be noticed in the first or second decade, with different types of complications of trauma to the extremities such as ulcers, mutilations and acral amputations. They are classified into six groups from I to VI, determined by the abnormality in eleven genes leading to phenotypic variations in the age of onset and the presence or absence of dysautonomia signs. With the exception of type I, all are autosomal recessive. The type II of these neuropathies is characterized by insensitivity to pain, heat and proprioception. We describe three members of a Mexican family with WNK1 gene mutation that caused hereditary neuropathy IIA.

Uso del Clamp pélvico en un paciente pediátrico politraumatizado / Pelvic Clamp in a polytraumatized pediatric patient

Las fracturas de pelvis en pacientes pediátricos son poco comunes y difieren de su contraparte en los adultos en cuanto a etiología, tipos de fracturas y lesiones asociadas; suelen estar acompañados, además, de lesiones viscerales y hemorragias letales. Presentamos el caso de paciente femenino de 10 años, con fractura inestable de la pelvis e inestabilidad hemodinámica que fue tratada con Clamp Pélvico como medida de resucitación y control de daños en la emergencia. El manejo de las fracturas de pelvis con el Clamp Pélvico en pacientes pediátricos con inestabilidad hemodinámica "in extremis" o "borderline" es un procedimiento práctico que debe ser dominada por residentes y especialistas de Ortopedia y Traumatología de todos los hospitales de nuestro país(AU)

Pelvic fractures in pediatric patients are rare and differs from their counterparts in adults in terms of etiology, fractures types and associated injuries. Can be accompanied by visceral lesions and lethal hemorrhages. We report the case 10 years old female patient with unstable pelvic fracture and hemodynamic instability who was treated with Pelvic C-Clamp as a measure of damage control and resuscitation in the emergency. The management of fractures of the pelvis in pediatric patients with hemodynamic instability "in extremis" or "borderline" with the Pelvic C-Clamp is a practical procedure to be dominated by residents and specialists of Orthopedics and Traumatology of all hospitals in our country(AU)

Tratamiento de las lesiones del anillo pélvico con un fijador interno anterior: estudio experimental: presentación de resultados preliminares / Internal anterior fixator for pelvic ring injury treatment: experimental study: preliminary results presentation

La fijación externa para el tratamiento de las lesiones del anillo pélvico es una técnica bien descrita y ampliamente utilizada para la estabilización inicial de estas lesiones y en ocasiones como tratamiento definitivo. Sin embargo, se ha asociado con complicaciones como infección en el trayecto de los pines, aflojamiento aséptico, pérdida de la reducción, lesión neurológica, entre otras. Presentamos un método novedoso de fijación interna anterior para el tratamiento de las lesiones del anillo pélvico mediante el uso de tornillos pediculares espinales supra acetabulares unidos a una barra subcutánea. Se realizó un estudio experimental de tipo prueba terapéutica, en una institución de nivel IV, donde se trataron 4 pacientes desde enero a junio de 2012. Tiempo de curación, calidad y pérdida de la reducción, incidencia de complicaciones y movilidad y confort del paciente, entre otras variables, fueron evaluadas. Presentamos los resultados preliminares del tratamiento de las fracturas del anillo pélvico con esta técnica(AU)

External fixation for the treatment of pelvic ring injuries is a well described and widely used technique for initial stabilization of these injuries and sometimos as definitive treatment. However, it has been associated with complications such as infection in the path of the pins, aseptic loosening, loss of reduction, neurologic injury, among others. We present a novel method of anterior internal fixation for the treatment of pelvic ring injuries by using pedicle screw spinal supra acetabular aboye a bar attached to the skin. An experimental study was made conducted in a Level IV institution, where 4 patients were treated from January to June 2012. Healing time, quality and loss of reduction, incidence of complications and patient mobility and comfort, among other variables, were evaluated. We present preliminary results of treatment of pelvic ring fractures with this technique(AU)

[Orofaciodigital syndrome]. / Le sindromi orofaciodigitali (OFD).

The AA. behaving the orofaciodigital syndromes, describe the main peculiarity of the etiology, anatomo-pathology, clinical features, diagnosis to the light of the late acquisitions about these.

[Signet ring cell carcinoma of sigmoid colon in an adolescent patient. Report of a case]. / Carcinoma de Células en anillo de sello del Colon en Adolecentes.

We report the case of a female patient, sixteen years old who was diagnosed of signet ring cell carcinoma of sigmoid colon. We discuss the clinical presentation outstanding the early presentation of this unusual cancer.