Identifying cloud forest conservation areas in Mexico from the potential distribution of 19 representative species.

Cloud forest is a sensitive and vulnerable ecosystem that is threatened by human activities as well as climate change. Previous studies have shown how transitional ecosystems such as cloud forests will be the most negatively impacted by the global increase in temperature. Therefore, the niche modeling framework was used in this study to geographically identify the areas with the climatic potential to host the largest number of key tree species in this ecosystem and to propose them as priority conservation areas. A total of 19 species were modeled using the MaxEnt algorithm; binary maps were generated for each species and combined to produce one potential suitability map and identify climatic priority areas. Thus, 7% of the national area of Mexico shows suitability for the cloud forest ecosystem, although it is currently distributed in less than 1% of the country. Finally, potential suitability areas were compared with natural protected areas, current land use and priority conservation areas. We found that of the current suitable area, only 5% coincides with some federal or state protection regime. Natural protected areas have proven to be a mechanism for forest conservation, so we must consider increasing the number and area of those protected areas that favor the conservation of these key cloud forest species.

Casein induces the proliferation of bone marrow mononuclear cells, apoptosis of WEHI-3 leukaemic cells and increased survival in a leukaemia mouse model.

Acute myeloid leukaemia results from the neoplastic transformation of haematopoietic stem cells. Although advances have been made in its treatment, the mortality rate remains high. As a result, therapeutic alternatives continue to be explored. In this study, we present evidence that suggests that casein, the principal protein in milk, possesses significant antileukaemic properties. We investigated whether casein inhibited the in vitro proliferation and induced the apoptosis of the mouse myelomonocytic leukaemia cell line WEHI-3. By contrast, under identical conditions, casein markedly promotes the proliferation of mouse normal mononuclear bone marrow cells. Since the selective elimination of leukaemia cells is an ideal therapeutic strategy, we also evaluated the antileukaemic potential of casein in vivo. The results showed that casein increases the survival of mice bearing WEHI-3-induced tumours, suggesting that this molecule is also capable of inhibiting the proliferation of these cells in vivo. The evidence that casein inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in leukaemia cells in vitro, but increased survival in vivo in a leukaemia mouse model, indicates that casein may be useful in leukaemia therapy.

Cytotoxic activity of five compounds isolated from Colombian plants.

Cytotoxic effect of five known compounds, khellin, berberine, lupeol, scopolin, rapanone, obtained from Colombian plants, were determined against human tumor cell lines as an indicator of the potential anticancer activity of these compounds. Berberine and rapanone presented interesting cytotoxicity.

Dimorfismo sexual en el núcleo mediano del rafe humano: estudio preliminar con el método de Golgi Cox / Sexual dimorphism in human medial raphe nucleus: a preliminar study using the Golgi Cox method

Brains from a female and a male newborn who died from an asphictic syndrome were examined to study the cytoarchitecture of the median raphe nucleus using the Golgi-Cox and morphometric methods. This nucleus is part of the serotonergic system. The morphometric analysis showed in the female newborn a significant increase of neurons. Also she had a higher proportion of ovoid and multipolar cells and a lower proportion of fusiform cells than the newborn male. Our findings suggest that this neuronal distribution may be the anatomical substrate for a serotonergic specific system in each sex

Perfil lipídico y edad: comportamiento en el Dispensario El Batan (IESS) Quito / Lipídico profile and age: behavior in the Clinic the Fulling mill (IESS) Exempt

Realiza un estudio retrospectivo de ene. a jul. de 1997 en el Laboratorio Clínico del Dispensario del Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social IESS, El Batán de Quito, en el que se analizan 3805 perfiles lipídicos. El 58.2xciento se realizan en mujeres y el 42.8xciento en hombres. Se estudia el porcentaje por edades de alteración del fenotipo lipoproteico aterogénico (ALP), que es: colesterol total moderadamente alto, triglicéridos elevados y HDL colesterol bajo, encontrando que esta alteración de la tríada lipídica está en directa relación con la edad, siendo en el hombre las edades comprendidas entre los 46 y 55 años de edad las de mayor alteración (25.7xciento), mientras en las mujeres esta alteración es mayor a partir de los 55 años de edad (25.2xciento). Antes de los 35 años en hombres y los 45 años en mujeres, los porcentajes de alteración lipídica es mínima. En ambos sexos es necesario practicar rutinariamente el perfil lipídico, en consideración a que es uno de los factores de riesgo cardíaco más importante.

Desarrollo dendrítico de las células piramidales de la neocorteza en víctimas del síndrome de muerte súbita infantil / Neocortical pyramidal cell dendritic development in victims of the sudden infant death syndrome

En pacientes fallecidos por síndrome de muerte súbita infantil se han descrito alteraciones de la maduración neuronal en el tronco cerebral y gliosis. Propósito: determinar si existen alteraciones en niños fallecidos por síndrome de muerte súbita infantil. Sujetos y método: mediciones de densidad, longitud y volumen del cilindro dendrítico de las células piramidales en preparaciones de la corteza motora de cuatro lactantes fallecidos por síndrome de muerte súbita infantil y cuatro controles muertos por neumonía. Las preparaciones fueron teñidas con la técnica de Golgi-Cox y evaluados con métodos morfométricos. Resultados: no se encontraron diferencias significativas en la densidad, número de ramas dendríticas a diferentes distancias del soma neuronal y volumen del cilindro dendrítico basal entre los lactantes fallecidos por neumonía y los considerados como casos de muerte súbita infantil, pero en estos últimos se registró, a diferencia de los controles, marcado proliferación de la glia. Conclusión: en lactantes fallecidos por síndrome de muerte súbita la maduración neuronal podría no ser afectada por aquellos factores que, en cambio, inducirían un retardo de la maduración histológica de núcleos del tronco encefálico y gliosis difusa del tejido nervioso. La gliosis sugiere exposición crónica a situaciones de hipoxia

Sexual selection by cryptic female choice on male seminal products - a new bridge between sexual selection and reproductive physiology.

Selection clearly focuses on differences in reproduction, but studies of reproductive physiology generally have been carried out in a near vacuum of modern evolutionary theory. This lack of contact between the two fields may be about to change. New ideas indicate that sexual selection by cryptic female choice has affected the evolution of products in male semen that influence female reproductive behavior and physiology.

Maduración histológica de las neuronas del tronco encefálico en víctimas del síndrome de muerte súbita infantil / Histological maturation of the neurons of the brainstem in victims of sudden death syndrome of children

Se examinaron los cerebros de tres niños fallecidos con diagnóstico de síndrome de muerte súbita infantil (SMSI), con el propósito de determinar el patrón de maduración histológico de los núcleos del puente, oliva bulbar e hipogloso mayor, núcleos del tonco encefálico que no están directamente vinculados con la función cardiorrespiratoria y compararla con el patrón observado en tres niños que fallecieron de causa conocida usando el método de Golgi-Cox y morfometria. Los niños fallecidos del SMSI presentan una reducción significativa de la arborización dendrítica neural en los tres núcleos estudiados, comparado con el grupo control. Estos hallazgos sugieron un retardo de la maduración neuronal de todo el tronco encefálico y no sólo de los centros cardiorrespiratorios como ha sido demostrado en niños que fallecieron del SMSI. Se sugiere que este retardo en la maduración del tronco encefálico representa un sustrato anatómico anormal en la multifactorial patogénesis de este síndrome

A dosing study of nonoxynol-9 and genital irritation.

The objective of the study was to assess the symptoms and signs of genital irritation produced by different frequencies of nonoxynol-9 (N-9) use. Thirty-five women were randomized to each of 5 groups and used a vaginal suppository for 2 weeks. Group 1: N-9 once every other day; Group 2: N-9 once a day; Group 3: N-9 twice a day; Group 4: N-9 4 times a day; and Group 5: placebo 4 times a day. Study women were examined at admission, one week and 2 weeks with a colposcope for erythema and epithelial disruption, and were interviewed about vaginal itching and burning. The rates of reported symptoms for N-9 users were not significantly different from that of placebo users. The rate of epithelial disruption for women using N-9 every other day was essentially the same as that of women using placebo. The rates of epithelial disruption for women using N-9 1/day and 2/day were 2.5 times greater than that of placebo users. The rate of epithelial disruption for women using N-9 4/day was five times greater than that of placebo users. Genital irritation was located primarily on the vagina or cervix, and vulvitis was not a significant problem. Women who infrequently use N-9 products may not experience an increase in genital irritation. Women who choose to use N-9 frequently may experience an increase in epithelial disruption.

Diagnóstico de la incompatibilidad ABO con base en estudio inmunohematológico / Diagnostic of the incompatibility ABO with base in inmunohematologi study

Se estudiaron 492 casos de niños con incompatibilidad inmunológica materno infantil por el sistema ABO. A todas las muestras se les efectuó la prueba directa e indirecta de Coombs; así como un eluido. En ambos grupos, los resultados positivos más altos fueron para los eluidos, con 319 casos en comparación con 194 casos de Coombs indirectos y 63 de Coombs directos. Consecuentemente los resultados negativos más frecuentes fueron para los Coombs directos con 429 casos a diferencia de 173 casos en eluidos y 298 en suero. Los estudios en los eluidos demostraron que el anticuerpo más frecuente fue el A,B, y 21 de anti B; así como 24 casos en los que el anticuerpo presente no correspondió a la incompatibilidad que existía entre la madre y el niño. Se concluye que es necesario hacer el eluido cuando el estudio en suero es negativo y hay sospecha de enfermedad hemolítica por ABO.

Teatro, musica y educacion en Bolivia

Las experiencias del teatro popular en Boliva; Formacion de profesores de teatro; Politica teatral; Musica y educacion; Instrumentos auxiliares; Personal docente; Enseñanza academica; Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional; Otras orquestas y conjuntos de camara; Teatro Municipal de La Paz; Promedio de recaudacion diaria por espectaculo 1988

Anovulatorios hormonales orales: un estudio prospectivo de su efectos sobre la salud de un grupo de mujeres costarricenses. / Oral hormonal contraceptives: a prospective study of their effects on the health of a group of Costa Rican women

Se llevo a cabo un estudio prospectivo para investigar en forma integral en un grupo de mujeres costarricenses, varios parametros biomedicos que pueden afectarse por la terapia antinuada con anticonceptivos hormonales orales. Se establecieron parametros biomedicos basales en todas las voluntarias antes de someterse al uso continuado de anovulatorios hormonales orales y se evaluaron luego los posibles efectos secundarios hematologicos, metabolicos, fisico-ginecologicos, epidemiologicos y etologicos producidos en la problacion en estudio. Los resultados y observaciones obtenidos mostraron que en las mujeres costarricenses estudiadas se presentaron los mismos efectos secundarios observados en las usuarias de la pildora de otros paises. Se observo ademas, que aparentemente existe un alto grado de desajuste sexual en la poblacion estudiada, debido, probablemente, a problemas etologicos

[Seroepidemiological study of Herpes simplex virus type 2 in adult women of Costa Rica]. / Estudio seroepidemilógico del virus Herpes simplex tipo 2 en mujeres adultas de Costa Rica.

The frequency of genital Herpes simplex type 2 infections in a group of twenty adult Costa Rican women was studied by isolation of the virus and the measurement of neutralizing antibody activity in sera. The virus could not be isolated in any of the vaginal secretions. Neutralizing antibody activity to herpes virus types 1 and 2 was found in sera from sixteen subjects. An antibody II/I index equal to or larger than 87, indicative of infection with Herpes simplex type 2 was found in fifty per cent of the population studied, a second segment was composed by the subjects with indices below 87. Evaluation of antibody activity to Herpes simplex type 2 revealed that: a) only a small percentage of the women lacked detectable antibody activity to the virus; b) there is a significant difference (p < 0.005) between the mean number of years of sexual experience among the two population segments; and c) there is a positive correlation (p < 0.05) between II/I index values and age among the women of the population segment with a II/I index equal to or larger than 87.

PIP: Aim of this study was to determine the presence of the virus Herpes Simplex type 2 by isolating it in the vaginal secretion of 20 adult women, and to determine the presence of neutralizing antibodies in the blood serum before the women initiated hormonal contraception. This work is part of an investigation aimed at studying several biochemical parameters which can be affected by the continued use of hormonal contraception. The virus was not isolated in any vaginal secretion, and neutralizing antibody activity to Herpes virus types 1 and 2 were found in sera from 16 subjects. An antibody 2/1 index = or than 87 indicative of infection with Herpes Simplex type 2 was found in 50% of subjects. Evaluation of antibody activity in this group revealed that only a small percentage of women are not protected against the virus, that there is a significant difference in the number of sexual relations among the population segments, and that antibodies are acquired at a very early age.

[Guatemalan cutaneous syndrome in actinic dermatitis]. / Síndrome cutáneo guatemalense en la dermatitis actínica

The author, describes the Actinic Dermatitis and a syndrome that he named "Sindrome cutáneo guatemalense" SCG (Guatemala's Cutaneous syndrome). Its has been studied and found in 98;5% of more than a thousand patients studied since 1957. He considered the SCG a patognomonic syndrome and of practical importance in the positive and differential clinical diagnosis of Actinic dermatitis with the other photodermatoses of the face, neck and "V" of the chest. The finding of the SCG, is of great help to the clinicians and dermatologits who practise in tropical countries.