[Oral Findings in Patients With COVID-19]. / Hallazgos bucales en pacientes COVID-19.

The aim of this study was to describe oral lesions in a group of patients with COVID-19. We recruited 55 patients, 25 women (45.5%) and 30 men (54.5%), aged between 1 and 89 years with confirmed COVID-19 at different stages of severity. After obtaining informed consent, we examined their mouths and recorded clinical findings. Forty percent of the patients had at least 1 oral lesion. The most common lesions were candidiasis and ulcers (7 patients each); 2 patients had enanthems. Geographic tongue and caviar tongue were also observed. Altered taste, dry mouth, and painful/burning mouth were noted in 60%, 27.3%, and 36.4% of patients, respectively. Oral mucosal alterations and lesions were prevalent in this series of COVID-19 patients. Altered taste and a painful/burning mouth were common symptoms.

Oral Findings in Patients With COVID-19.

The aim of this study was to describe oral lesions in a group of patients with COVID-19. We recruited 55 patients, 25 women (45.5%) and 30 men (54.5%), aged between 1 and 89 years with confirmed COVID-19 at different stages of severity. After obtaining informed consent, we examined their mouths and recorded clinical findings. Forty percent of the patients had at least 1 oral lesion. The most common lesions were candidiasis and ulcers (7 patients each); 2 patients had enanthems. Geographic tongue and caviar tongue were also observed. Altered taste, dry mouth, and painful/burning mouth were noted in 60%, 27.3%, and 36.4% of patients, respectively. Oral mucosal alterations and lesions were prevalent in this series of COVID-19 patients. Altered taste and a painful/burning mouth were common symptoms.

El propósito de este trabajo fue caracterizar las alteraciones orales en un grupo de pacientes COVID-19. Para ello se evaluaron 55 pacientes hospitalizados, confirmados COVID-19 en distintos estadios de severidad. Previo consentimiento informado, se examinó la cavidad oral y se registraron los hallazgos clínicos. El grupo de estudio estuvo conformado por 25 mujeres (45,5%) y 30 hombres (54,5%), con edades comprendidas entre 1 y 89 años. Un 40% de los pacientes mostraron alguna lesión bucal. Las lesiones más comunes fueron candidiasis y ulceraciones (7 pacientes cada uno) y en dos pacientes se observó enantema. También se encontraron alteraciones de la normalidad como glositis migratoria y varicosidades linguales. Asimismo, se registraron alteraciones del gusto, xerostomía y dolor/ardor bucal en el 60%, 27,3% y 36,4% respectivamente. En los pacientes COVID-19 se observaron con frecuencia alteraciones y lesiones en la mucosa bucal. Finalmente, la disgeusia y el dolor y/o el ardor oral fueron síntomas comunes en estos pacientes.

Performance of innovative PU-foam and natural fiber-based composites for the biofiltration of a mixture of volatile organic compounds by a fungal biofilm.

The performance of perlite and two innovative carriers that consist of polyurethane (PU) chemically modified with starch; and polypropylene reinforced with agave fibers was evaluated in the biofiltration of a mixture of VOCs composed of hexane, toluene and methyl-ethyl-ketone. At a total organic loading rate of 145 gCm(-3)h(-1) the elimination capacities (ECs) obtained were 145, 24 and 96 gCm(-3)h(-1) for the biofilters packed with the PU, the reinforced polypropylene, and perlite, respectively. Specific maximum biodegradation rates of the mixture, in the biofilters, were 416 mgCg(protein)(-1) h(-1) for the PU and 63 mgCg(protein)(-1) h(-1) for perlite, which confirms the highest performance of the PU-composite. 18S rDNA analysis from the PU-biofilter revealed the presence of Fusarium solani in its sexual and asexual states, respectively. The modified PU carrier significantly reduced the start-up period of the biofilter and enhanced the EC of the VOCs. Thus, this study gives new alternatives in the field of packing materials synthesis, promoting the addition of easily biodegradable sources to enhance the performance of biofilters.

Automatic intraductal breast carcinoma classification using a neural network-based recognition system.

A contour-based automatic recognition system was applied to classify intraductal breast carcinoma into high nuclear grade and low nuclear grade in a digitized histologic image. The image discriminating characteristics were selected by their invariability condition to rotation and translation. They were acquired from cellular contours information. The totally interconnected multilayer perceptron network architecture was selected, and it was trained with the error back propagation algorithm. Forty cases were analyzed by the system and the diagnoses were compared with that of pathologist consensus, obtaining agreement in 97.5% (p < .00001 of cases). The system may become a very useful tool for the pathologist in the definitive classification of intraductal carcinoma.

Successful control of onchocerciasis vectors in San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala, 1984-1989.

Between 1984 and 1989, the onchocerciasis-vector control zone on the pilot area of San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala, which had been subject to experimental control since 1979, was extended from 91.3 to 148.6 km2. Temephos was used as a larvicide against Simulium ochraceum s.l. the target species. As a new strategy, only breeding sites with water discharges of 0.1-10 litres/s were treated, every 2 weeks. This approach provided a substantial reduction in effort, number of treated sites, time and cost. To assess the effect of the temephos, nine sites were selected in which standardized collections of adult Simulium were made twice a month, by human bait. There was an obvious difference between the pre- and post-control mean densities of flies at each site. In the northern area, which includes the Lavaderos, Barretal, Colina and Rodeo sites, the biting density in 1979, before treatment, varied between 10 and 64 flies/man-hour (FMH). Four years later, this had been reduced to 0.1-3.2 FMH, and by the end of the present study, in 1989, the mean density was zero FMH. In the southern area, which lies south-east of Lavaderos (and includes Guachipilin, Ingerto, Pena Blanca and Sierra Morena), the density during the pre-control phase was 24 FMH at one of the two sites investigated at the time and 39.3 FMH at the other. It fell to 0.1-0.5 FMH after 5 years of control and to zero (three sites) or close to zero (< or = 0.5 FMH; one site) for the last 4 years of the present study. To assess the effect of vector control on onchocerciasis prevalence and incidence, 1280 residents from six endemic communities, out of 12,000 permanent inhabitants, were examined. In Santa Cruz, Patrocinio and Los Rios, the prevalence of skin microfilariae in the subjects from each community fell from 8.1%-37.8% during the pretreatment, base-line period to 0.0%-31.5% when the study foci were totally integrated into the vector-control operation following treatment. Incidence among children (aged < or = 9 years) varied from 0%-25% for the period 1982-1984 but, thereafter, not a single case appeared in four of the six study communities (Santa Cruz, Patrocinio, Los Rios and Berlin). Incidence in Guachipilin did not decline appreciably, probably because of human migration into the area from other onchocerciasis foci. The prevalence of nodules followed a similar trend to those of the prevalence and incidence of skin microfilariae, falling from 9.1%-45.0% pre-control to 1.8%-14.3% 10 years later.

PIP: In the onchocerciasis vector control zone in San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala, temephos was the only insecticide used against Simulium ochraceum during 1979-89. A shift to a strategy of treating only breeding sites with water discharges of 0.1-10 liters/s every 2 weeks resulted in considerable reductions in program effort, number of treated sites, time, and costs. To evaluate the effect of the temephos, 9 sites in which standardized collections of adult Simulium were made twice a month were selected. In the northern sites (Lavaderos, Barretal, Colina, and Rodeo), the biting density before the temephos treatment program was initiated in 1979 was 10-64 flies per man-hour. This density had been reduced to 0.1-3.2 by 1983 and to zero by 1989. In the southern area (Guachipilin, Ingerto, Pena Blanca, and Sierra Morena), pre-intervention biting densities were 24.0-39.3 flies per man-hour, but dropped to 0.1-0.5 by 1993 and to 0-0.5 by 1989. Moreover, examination of 1280 residents from 6 endemic communities revealed a decline in the prevalence of skin microfilariae from 8.1-37.8% in the baseline period to 0-31.5% when the study foci were integrated into the vector control operation after treatment. After 1984, 4 of these communities had no cases of onchocerciasis among children 9 years of age and younger. The prevalence of nodules fell from 9.1-45.0% in the pretreatment period to 1.8-14.3% in 1989. These findings confirm that larviciding with temephos has produced excellent control of onchocerciasis in San Vicente Pacaya.

Leptin plasma levels in healthy Spanish children and adolescents, children with obesity, and adolescents with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To investigate normal circulating levels of leptin in children at various stages of pubertal maturation (Tanner stages) according to sex; and (2) to analyze serum leptin levels in pediatric patients with eating disorders (obesity, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa). STUDY DESIGN: Fasting leptin levels were studied in normal healthy boys and girls throughout development. Obese pediatric subjects and patients with anorexia nervosa were studied at the time of diagnosis and after 6 months and 1 year of treatment for weight reduction or weight recuperation, respectively. Patients with bulimia nervosa were studied at the moment of diagnosis. RESULTS: Leptin levels in both boys and girls vary significantly depending on the maturational stage, being low in both sexes at Tanner stage I and rising significantly by Tanner stage III. In girls, there was a further increase by Tanner stage V and a significant decrease in boys, resulting in a sexual dimorphism in Tanner V subjects. In obese prepubertal patients, leptin levels were significantly elevated at the time of diagnosis and declined significantly with weight loss (ANOVA: p < 0.0001). In anorexia nervosa patients' leptin levels are significantly reduced compared with age- and sex-matched controls (p < 0.0001). These levels remain significantly lower even after recovery of at least 10% of the original body weight and 1 year later. In patients with bulimia leptin levels were reduced at the time of diagnosis but were significantly higher than in patients with anorexia. CONCLUSION: In normal pediatric subjects leptin levels are highly correlated with the body mass index, but this is not the case in eating disorders, where the body mass index is either significantly elevated or reduced. Both age and sex should be taken into consideration when analyzing serum leptin levels.

Relación de la prótesis estomatológica y el carcinoma bucal / Relationship of stomatologic prosthesis and buccal carcinoma

Se realiza el estudio de 48 pacientes ingresados en el servicio de cirugía cérvico-facial del hospital oncológico docente de Santiago de Cuba, en el período comprendido entre mayo de 1978 y mayo de 1979, en los cuales se demostró mediante examen clínico e histopatológico la presencia de carcinoma bucal. De ellos, el 50 por ciento usaba prótesis estomatológica. Las afecciones encontradas según edad, sexo, raza y situación de la lesión, coinciden con los resultados obtenidos por otros autores consultados. Se establecen conclusiones y se ilustra el trabajo mediante cuadros estadísticos(AU)