Pseudomonas keratitis 4 years after laser in situ keratomileusis.

Purpose: To report a patient who presented an infectious keratitis 4 years after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) without any other predisposing risk factor than the LASIK procedure itself.

Case Report: We report a 32-year-old man operated by LASIK in January 2006 who presented with infectious keratitis in the OD in April 2010. Clinical examination showed a corneal abscess at 10-o'clock position in the interface and fibrin and Tyndall 4+ in the anterior chamber.

[Public hospital utilization by the foreign population in Aragon, Spain (2004-2007)].

Objectives: To describe hospitalization rates and hospital morbidity among the foreign population residing in Aragon (Spain) by country of birth, between 2004 and 2007, and to compare these rates with those in the autochthonous population.

Methods: A retrospective longitudinal study was carried out of hospital discharges of the foreign population in public hospitals in Aragon. Utilization rates were estimated by sex, age, country of birth and main diagnosis.

Resistance to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus accumulation in the tomato wild relative Solanum habrochaites associated with the C4 viral protein.

Tomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD) is a severe threat to tomato crops worldwide and is caused by Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and several other begomoviruses (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae). Host plant resistance is the best TYLCD control method but limited sources of resistance are available. In this study, two Solanum habrochaites TYLCD-resistance sources, EELM-388 and EELM-889, were found after a wide germplasm screening and were further characterized.

Interactions of Schiff-base ligands with gold nanoparticles: structural, optical and electrocatalytic studies.

A study on optical and electrochemical properties resulting upon interaction of Schiff base ligands with gold nanoparticles is presented. The measurements of the optical absorption and fluorescence properties have provided important information about structure-properties dependence. We show that in function of the isomer structure and its attachment orientation with respect to the metal nanoparticle, their optical properties can be modulated.

[Laparoscopic treatment of achalasia: analysis of results and reflections on the technique].

Introduction: Heller myotomy using the laparoscopic approach is the best treatment that we can offer to patients with achalasia. On not acting on the cause of the disease, we can only alleviate the persistence of the symptoms, but not make them disappear.

Objective: To analyse the results of our group in the treatment of achalasia by laparoscopy.

Morphological and molecular characterization of Phytophthora glovera sp. nov. from tobacco in Brazil.

A root rot disease of cultivated tobacco called yellow stunt has been observed in the burley tobacco production areas of Brazil since the early 1990s. Root infecting fungi and straminipiles were isolated from the roots of diseased tobacco plants, including a semi-papillate, homothallic, slow growing Phytophthora species. Pathogenicity trials confirmed that Phytophthora sp.

Bilateral inguinal hernia repair: laparoscopic or open approach?

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate outcomes in the treatment of bilateral inguinal hernia, comparing the laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal (TEP) and open tension-free mesh repair (LICHT) approaches.

Methods: We performed a prospective controlled non randomized clinical study in 128 patients with bilateral inguinal hernia over a period of 3 years. LICHT was used in 106 cases (53 patients) while TEP was employed in 150 cases (75 patients).

A simple fluorogenic method for determination of acid ceramidase activity and diagnosis of Farber disease.

Acid ceramidase (aCDase) is one of several enzymes responsible for ceramide degradation within mammalian cells. As such, aCDase regulates the intracellular levels of the bioactive lipid ceramide. An inherited deficiency of aCDase activity results in Farber disease (FD), also called lipogranulomatosis, which is characterized by ceramide accumulation in the tissues of patients.

The T-box brain 1 (Tbr1) transcription factor inhibits astrocyte formation in the olfactory bulb and regulates neural stem cell fate.

The T-box brain 1 (Tbr1) gene encodes a transcription factor necessary for the maintenance and/or differentiation of glutamatergic cells in the olfactory bulb (OB) and cortex, although its precise function in the development of glutamatergic neurons is not known. Furthermore, Tbr1 has not been reported to regulate the formation of glial cells. We show that Tbr1 is expressed during the initial stages in the generation of glutamatergic mitral neurons from dividing progenitors in the E12.

Dihydrosphingomyelin impairs HIV-1 infection by rigidifying liquid-ordered membrane domains.

The lateral organization of lipids in cell membranes is thought to regulate numerous cell processes. Most studies focus on the coexistence of two fluid phases, the liquid crystalline (l(d)) and the liquid-ordered (l(o)); the putative presence of gel domains (s(o)) is not usually taken into account. We show that in phospholipid:sphingolipid:cholesterol mixtures, in which sphingomyelin (SM) promoted fluid l(o) domains, dihydrosphingomyelin (DHSM) tended to form rigid domains.

First Report of Seedborne Cherry leaf roll virus in Wild Potato, Solanum acaule, from South America.

A virus, designated JCM-79, was isolated from wild potato (Solanum acaule Bitt.) plants grown from true seed received at USDA-APHIS Potato Quarantine Program from Peru. JCM-79 was mechanically transmissible to Nicotiana clevelandii and N.

First Report of "Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum" on Field Tomatoes in the United States.

In August 2008, 30% of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants in plots in Lubbock County, Texas showed yellowing, lateral stem dieback, upward leaf curling, enlargement of stems, adventitious roots, and swollen nodes. Yellowing in leaves was similar to that seen with zebra chip disease (ZC) of potato that was confirmed in a potato field 112 km away in July 2008 and was associated with a 'Candidatus Liberibacter' species (1), similar to findings earlier in 2008 in New Zealand and California (2,3). Tissue from four symptomatic plants of cv.

Continuous analysis and monitoring of snores and their relationship to the apnea-hypopnea index.

Objectives/hypothesis: We used a new automatic snoring detection and analysis system to monitor snoring during full-night polysomnography to assess whether the acoustic characteristics of snores differ in relation to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and to classify subjects according to their AHI.

Study Design: Individual Case-Control Study.

Methods: Thirty-seven snorers (12 females and 25 males; ages 40-65 years; body mass index (BMI), 29.

Control of metabolism and signaling of simple bioactive sphingolipids: Implications in disease.

Simple bioactive sphingolipids include ceramide, sphingosine and their phosphorylated forms sphingosine 1-phosphate and ceramide 1-phosphate. These molecules are crucial regulators of cell functions. In particular, they play important roles in the regulation of angiogenesis, apoptosis, cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and inflammation.

Reactivity of ortho-substituted aryl-palladium complexes towards carbodiimides, isothiocyanates, nitriles, and cyanamides.

Complexes [Pd(C(6)H(3)XH-2-R'-5)Y(N;N)] (X=O, NH; Y=Br, I; R'=H, NO(2); N;N=N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (tmeda), 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine (dtbbpy)) react with RN=C=E (E=NR, S) or RC identical withN (R=alkyl, aryl, NR''(2)) and TlOTf (OTf=CF(3)SO(3)) to give, respectively, 1) products of the insertion of the C=E group into the C--Pd bond, protonation of the N atom, and coordination of X to Pd, [Pd{kappa(2)-X,E-(XC(6)H(3){EC(NHR)}-2-R'-4)}(N;N)]OTf or [Pd(kappa(2)-X,N-{ZC(6)H(3)(NH=CR)-2-R'-4})(N;N)]OTf, or products of the coordination of carbodiimides and OH addition, [Pd{kappa(2)-C,N-(C(6)H(4){OC(NR)}NHR-2)}(bpy)]OTf; or 2) products of the insertion of the C identical withN group to Pd and N-protonation, [Pd(kappa(2)-X,N-{XC(6)H(3)(NH=CR)-2-R'-4})(N;N)]OTf.

Differential temporal changes in brain and gut substance P mRNA expression throughout the time-course of cisplatin-induced vomiting in the least shrew (Cryptotis parva).

Cisplatin and related chemotherapeutics are potent emetogens in humans and least shrews, a small animal emesis model which also vomits in response to substance P (SP). The SP-producing preprotachykinin-1 (PPT1) mRNA is transcribed from the Tac1 gene, which has been sequenced from several animal species and humans and is highly conserved. Despite its prominent role in chemotherapy-induced vomiting, the tachykininergic system is not well-characterized in emesis-competent species.

[Development of bladder stone following a tension-free vaginal tape procedure: a case report].

The bladder stone formation due to intravesical mesh erosion of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) is an infrequent complication. We report a case of 73 years old woman, treated in two occasions by means of the positioning of a TVT with the intention of treating its urinary incontinence. The symptoms, of a year of evolution, was characterized by disuria, pelvic pain, diarrea and constitutional syndrome.

Foot ischaemia and toe skin necrosis associated with interleukin-2 infusion in an HIV-infected patient.

A 39-year-old white man developed a severe left toe foot ischaemia and toe skin necrosis following his 12 courses of interleukin (IL)-2 (4.5 MIU twice a day, subcutaneously) for five days every two months. He had no known general risk factors for thrombosis other than HIV infection.

Direct electron transfer to a metalloenzyme redox center coordinated to a monolayer-protected cluster.

A strategy for establishing electrical contact to the metal center of a redox metalloenzyme, galactose oxidase (GOase), by coordination of a linker attached to a monolayer-protected gold cluster is presented. The cluster-enzyme hybrid system was first prepared in solution and characterized by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. Electrochemical communication between a gold electrode and GOase was achieved by first modifying the electrode surface with a biphenyl dithiol self-assembled monolayer followed by reaction with gold clusters capped with thioctic acid.

Association of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' with Zebra Chip Disease of Potato Established by Graft and Psyllid Transmission, Electron Microscopy, and PCR.

A new disease of potatoes, tentatively named zebra chip (ZC) because of the intermittent dark and light symptom pattern in affected tubers which is enhanced by frying, was first found in Mexico in 1994 and in the southwestern United States in 2000. The disease can cause severe economic losses in all market classes of potatoes. The cause of ZC has been elusive, and only recently has been associated with 'Candidatus Liberibacter' sp.

Microbial keratitis after corneal collagen crosslinking.

Several infiltrates appeared in the upper midperipheral cornea of a 29-year-old woman who had had uneventful corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) with riboflavin and ultraviolet-A light (UVA) for the treatment of keratoconus in the right eye. Staphylococcus epidermidis keratitis was confirmed by microbiological studies, which guided treatment with topical fortified antibiotic agents. Before CXL, the best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) in the right eye was 20/25, the manifest refraction was -0.

[Is it pertinent to investigate the relations between physicians and the drug industry].

Objective: To analyse the opinions of physicians on the appropriateness of research into the relationships between doctors and pharmaceutical industry, and to evaluate the usefulness of email survey in this research.

Material And Methods: Survey via email of 373 authors of papers published in Spanish medical journals in 2007. The relationships between doctors and the industry was measured by asking doctors what they had received from industry during last year, the value in euro, and the number of visits from industry representatives.

Multiplex real-time PCR for detection, identification and quantification of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' in potato plants with zebra chip.

The new Liberibacter species, 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) recently associated with potato/tomato psyllid-transmitted diseases in tomato and capsicum in New Zealand, was found to be consistently associated with a newly emerging potato zebra chip (ZC) disease in Texas and other southwestern states in the USA. A species-specific primer LsoF was developed for both quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and conventional PCR (cPCR) to detect and quantify Lso in infected samples. In multiplex qPCR, a plant cytochrome oxidase (COX)-based probe-primer set was used as a positive internal control for host plants, which could be used to reliably access the DNA extraction quality and to normalize qPCR data for accurate quantification of the bacterial populations in environment samples.