[Perforation of Meckel's diverticulum by a fishbone]. / Perforatsiya divertikula Mekkelya ryb'ei kost'yu.

Meckel's diverticulum is the most common congenital defect of the gastrointestinal tract. It is most often silent or asymptomatic. However, acute abdominal signs of obstruction, inflammation, hemorrhage and perforation are possible in other cases. Different foreign bodies can cause perforation of Meckel's diverticulum. We present an 18-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain within 48 previous hours. After evaluation, acute appendicitis was diagnosed and he underwent laparoscopic appendectomy. Meckel's diverticulum perforated by a fish bone was intraoperatively discovered. Incidental appendectomy and segmental resection of the ileum were performed.

Degradation of lineal alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) in an acidogenic reactor bioaugmented with a Pseudomonas aeruginosa (M113) strain.

The degradation of of lineal alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) was studied in a two-stage anaerobic system where the acidogenic reactor was bioaugmented with a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (M113). This is a strain, which under aerobic and denitrifying conditions uses LAS as carbon source. Results show that LAS was only degraded within the acidogenic stage while in the methanogenic reactor there was no degradation and eventually there was an inhibition due to a LAS accumulation in the sludge. During the experiment, the M113 strain remained in the acidogenic conglomerate (at around 10(4) CFU/mL) although there is no evidence of their involvement in LAS degradation.

Cloning, characterization, and expression in Streptomyces lividans 66 of an extracellular lipase-encoding gene from Streptomyces sp. M11.

A gene encoding an extracellular lipase from Streptomyces sp. M11 was cloned in the high-copy-number vector pIJ486, using S. lividans 66 as host. A 28-kDa protein was secreted by S. lividans carrying pB13, which harbors a 6-kb insert, and identified as the product of the cloned gene. Comparison of the N-terminal amino acid (aa) sequence of the purified extracellular lipase with the nucleotide (nt) sequence of the lip gene revealed the presence of a 48 aa long signal peptide. The nucleotide sequence also revealed the presence of a motif, Gly-His-Ser-Met-Gly, similar to the one found surrounding the active-site Ser in other lipases. The gene is most likely monocistronic. Subcloning experiments indicated that another gene might be required for high-level expression, since subcloning of the structural gene alone resulted in diminished extracellular lipase activity. The lipase gene promoter was identified by S1 mapping experiments, and found to be similar to other Streptomyces vegetative promoters.

The Blood Pressure Study in Mexican Children (BPSMC): I. Distribution and correlates of blood pressure in adolescent Mexican girls.

Blood pressure rises in adolescence and its increase appears to be more closely related to body size than to age. This cross-sectional study assessed the relationship between selected anthropometric and demographic factors and blood pressure during early adolescence in a sample of 233 females aged 10-12 years enrolled in public and private primary schools in Tlalpan, Mexico. Standardized measurements of blood pressure, arm circumference and length, height, weight, body mass index, and triceps skinfold were obtained. All anthropometric attributes were strong univariate correlates of blood pressure. Multiple regression analyses suggest positive associations between both body mass index and arm length and systolic blood pressure early in adolescence. When cross-cultural comparisons were made of blood pressure levels in the Blood Pressure Study in Mexican Children (BPSMC) with results in other countries, the BPSMC mean blood pressure levels were found to be the lowest. Possible explanations are discussed.

[Regional vaccine systems for Latin America]. / El Sistema Regional de Vacunas para América Latina.

This paper discusses the conditions that force the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to design and produce vaccines for the most common infectious diseases in the Region on a regional basis. The authors discuss as well the goals and strategies of the Regional System for the Production of Vaccines in Latin America, its possible structure and economic feasibility.

[Organ transplantation as a health priority in developing countries]. / Transplante de órganos como una prioridad de salud en paises en desarrollo.

The epidemiology profile of developing countries is in transition. While the prevalence of infectious and preventable diseases, malnutrition, and in general the health problems traditionally associated to the poor, is still high, the characteristic health profile of industrialized countries (i.e. chronic and degenerative diseases, accidents, violence, social pathology) is beginning to surface. This paper focuses on the need to consider organ transplantation as a health priority in developing countries, as an important element in the global strategy to cover both aspects of the health care demand.

[Health without boundaries and boundaries in health]. / La salud sin fronteras y las fronteras en la salud.

This paper presents a general picture of the relationship between health and borders, analyzing the particular case of Mexico. The concept of international health is discussed, and the role of the multinational organizations created to approach it -WHO, PHO, UNICEF, etcetera- is described.

[Second-level hospitals in the health care model for the population without coverage]. / Los hospitales de segundo nivel en el modelo de atención para la salud de la población abierta.

Hospital health care may be a complement of ambulatory care and promotes the integration of a real National Health System. The measures adopted in the last years in Mexico to create a net of second level hospitals under a new model of health care are described; decentralization, the creation of high quality regional health care centers, administrative modernization, new financial formulas and community participation are some of the analyzed topics.

[New hospitals of the program for reconstruction and reorganization of health services in the metropolitan area]. / Los nuevos hospitales del programa de reconstrucción y reordenamiento de los servicios de salud en el area metropolitana.

This article describes the stages in the building of the general hospitals of 144 beds included in the Health Services Reconstruction and Reordering Program. The Program is being carried out by the Health Ministry in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, emphasizing the reordering sense of the activities developed to cope with the observed unbalances in the distribution of health services among the various zones in the area. The article examines also the coordination among the internal units of the Health Ministry and other agencies in the Health Sector. Finally, the lessons of the experience derived from those processes are discussed.

The health care reform in Mexico: before and after the 1985 earthquakes.

The earthquakes that hit Mexico City in September 1985 caused considerable damage both to the population and to important medical facilities. The disaster took place while the country was undertaking a profound reform of its health care system. This reform had introduced a new principle for allocating and distributing the benefits of health care, namely, the principle of citizenship. Operationally, the reform includes an effort to decentralize the decision-making authority, to modernize the administration, to achieve greater coordination within the health sector and among sectors, and to extend coverage to the entire population through an ambitious primary care program. This paper examines the health context in which the reform was taking place when the September earthquakes hit. After presenting the damages caused by the quakes, the paper analyzes the characteristics of the immediate response by the health system. Since many facilities within the system were severely damaged, a series of options for reconstruction are posited. The main lesson to be learned from the Mexican case is that cuts in health care programs are not the inevitable response to economic or natural crises. On the contrary, it is precisely when the majority of the population is undergoing difficulties that a universal and equitable health system becomes most necessary.