Understanding the pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic effects in neurocysticercosis.

Despite being a leading cause of acquired seizures in endemic regions, the pathological mechanisms of neurocysticercosis are still poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the impact of anthelmintic treatment on neuropathological features in a rat model of neurocysticercosis. Rats were intracranially infected with Taenia solium oncospheres and treated with albendazole + praziquantel (ABZ), oxfendazole + praziquantel (OXF), or untreated placebo (UT) for 7 days. Following the last dose of treatment, brain tissues were evaluated at 24 h and 2 months. We performed neuropathological assessment for cyst damage, perilesional brain inflammation, presence of axonal spheroids, and spongy changes. Both treatments showed comparable efficacy in cyst damage and inflammation. The presence of spongy change correlated with spheroids counts and were not affected by anthelmintic treatment. Compared to white matter, gray matter showed greater spongy change (91.7% vs. 21.4%, p < 0.0001), higher spheroids count (45.2 vs. 0.2, p = 0.0001), and increased inflammation (72.0% vs. 21.4%, p = 0.003). In this rat model, anthelmintic treatment destroyed brain parasitic cysts at the cost of local inflammation similar to what is described in human neurocysticercosis. Axonal spheroids and spongy changes as markers of damage were topographically correlated, and not affected by anthelmintic treatment.

Disparities among crop species in the evolution of growth rates: the role of distinct origins and domestication histories.

Growth rates vary widely among plants with different strategies. For crops, evolution under predictable and high-resource environments might favour rapid resource acquisition and growth, but whether this strategy has consistently evolved during domestication and improvement remains unclear. Here we report a comprehensive study of the evolution of growth rates based on comparisons among wild, landrace, and improved accessions of 19 herbaceous crops grown under common conditions. We also examined the underlying growth components and the influence of crop origin and history on growth evolution. Domestication and improvement did not affect growth consistently, that is growth rates increased or decreased or remained unchanged in different crops. Crops selected for fruits increased the physiological component of growth (net assimilation rate), whereas leaf and seed crops showed larger domestication effects on morphology (leaf mass ratio and specific leaf area). Moreover, climate and phylogeny contributed to explaining the effects of domestication and changes in growth. Crop-specific responses to domestication and improvement suggest that selection for high yield has not consistently changed growth rates. The trade-offs between morpho-physiological traits and the distinct origins and histories of crops accounted for the variability in growth changes. These findings have far-reaching implications for our understanding of crop performance and adaptation.

Skin Cancer Prevalence in Outdoor Workers of Ski Resorts.

BACKGROUND: Snow reflectivity and altitude increase the exposure of ski resort workers to solar ultraviolet radiation. The aim was to assess the presence of skin cancer in ski resorts workers and compare it with other groups of outdoor workers reviewing published studies. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional prospective study was conducted in the three largest ski resorts in Spain: Baqueira Beret, Lleida; Formigal, Huesca and Sierra Nevada, Granada. All outdoor workers including ski instructors were invited to participate in the study. The participants completed a validated questionnaire about sun exposure and underwent a skin examination. RESULTS: 219 workers were included in the study (80% male; mean age 43.8 (SD 11.31) years). Actinic keratosis (AK) but no other skin cancers were detected in 32 participants (14.62%). Those with AK worked in the Southernmost ski resort, were more likely to have light colour hair, and were older and with higher photoaging grade than those without them. CONCLUSION: Compared to other studies, outdoor workers on ski resorts show a higher prevalence of AK than general population but a lower prevalence than other groups of outdoor workers.

Spanish Language Pelvic Floor Disorders Patient Information Handouts: How Readable Are They?

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the readability of commonly available patient information materials for pelvic floor disorders written in Spanish and compare their readability based on type of content and source. METHODS: Spanish patient information handouts, including pamphlets from the National Institutes of Health, International Urogynecology Association, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, online printable handouts, and industry-sponsored brochures were assessed for readability. Online materials for patients were obtained from Google searches using key words (pelvic floor disorders, urogynecology, patient information handouts, Spanish). Reading difficulty was assessed using INFLESZ v1.0, (Barrio-Cantalejo IM, Spain) a free software developed to calculate the readability of Spanish written texts. Three index scales were used: Flesch-Szigriszt Index, Word correlation Index, and the Fernandez-Huerta Index. RESULTS: Forty patient information handouts were analyzed. All pamphlets analyzed had readability scores within the "average" to "very difficult" reading difficulty levels as per the index scales used. None of the analyzed pamphlets met the sixth grade reading level criteria suggested by the National Institutes of Health and American Medical Association, including government-developed materials. There were no differences in readability scores between type of leaflet content or source. CONCLUSIONS: Current available free, industry-, organization-, and government-provided reading materials in Spanish do not serve the Spanish-speaking only or low English-speaking literacy population. Future work should aim to simplify the language in such documents to the suggested sixth grade reading level.

Ultrananocrystalline diamond-decorated silicon nanowire field emitters.

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were uniformly decorated with ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) by a novel route using paraffin wax as the seeding source, which is more efficient in the creation of diamond nuclei than traditional methods. These one-dimensional ultrananocrystalline diamond-decorated SiNWs (UNCD/SiNWs) exhibit uniform diameters ranging from 100 to 200 nm with a bulbous catalytic tip of ∼250 nm in diameter and an UNCD grain size of ∼5 nm. UNCD/SiNW nanostructures demonstrated enhanced electron field emission (EFE) properties with a turn-on field of about 3.7 V/µm. Current densities around 2 mA/cm(2) were achieved at 25 V/µm, which is significantly enhanced as compared to bare SiNWs.

Microdiscectomía lumbar con la técnica de Caspar y ligamentoplastía interespinosa con Ethibon / Lumbar microdiscectomy with caspar technique and interspinal ligamentoplasty with ethilbond

Es un estudio retrospectivo de 44 pacientes con 61 hernias discales, en el cual se valoran los resultados clínicos y radiográficos obtenidos mediante la técnica de microcirugía y ligamantoplastía, para el tratamiento de hernias discales con inestabilidad de la columna lumbar, durante un seguimiento de 39 meses. Encontrando un 88.40 por ciento de excelentes resultados, un 9.30 por ciento de buenos resultados y malos 2.27 por ciento. Se discuten ampliamente las ventajas y desventajas de esta técnica sobre el método convencional

Manejo de la columna cervical traumática con la técnica de Caspar: experiencia del Hospital Ramón y Cajal / Caspar's procedure for treatment of traumatic cervical spine: experience of Ramon y Cajal of Spain Hospital

Los autores revisaron una serie de 22 pacientes en los que se ha practicado una artrodesis cervical anterior con la técnica de Caspar de 1987 a 1992. La etiología original fue traumática, con un seguimiento medio de 23.5 meses. Se discuten las diferentes técnicas, comentando en profundidad de descrita por Caspar y su empleo en nuestros pacientes; se estudian los resultados encontrando una mejoría clínica en la escala de Frankel y de Toledo de más de un grado y una satisfacción subjetiva de un 80 por ciento excelente, 10 por ciento de resultados buenos y 10 por ciento de resultados regulares. Fueron escasas las complicaciones intraoperatorias. En conclusión, reseñamos que es una muy buena técnica por su estabilidad inmediata, ausencia de complicaciones y recuperación precoz de los pacientes.