Preliminary study between Y chromosome haplogroups and chagasic cardiomyopathy manifestations in patients with Chagas disease.

Introduction: Among patients with Chagas disease, men have a higher risk of worse pathological symptoms than women. We aimed to explore the role of the Y chromosome in men diagnosed with Chagas disease and assess the relationship between their ancestry and disease status.

Methods: In this comparative study, we analyzed 150 men with unrelated non-chagasic disease (nCD) and 150 men with unrelated chagasic disease (CD).

Response of Lemna gibba L. to high and environmentally relevant concentrations of ibuprofen: Removal, metabolism and morpho-physiological traits for biomonitoring of emerging contaminants.

The increasing worldwide consumption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products such as ibuprofen (IBU) is leading to the widespread and persistent occurrence of these chemicals and their transformation products in soils and waters. Although at low concentrations, the continuous discharge of these micropollutants and the incomplete removal by the actual wastewater treatments can provoke accumulation in the environment with risks for the trophic chain. Non-target organisms as duckweed can be used for the environmental monitoring of pharmaceutical emerging contaminants.

Investigating the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) leaf characteristics along the vertical canopy profile: leaf structure, photosynthetic capacity, light energy dissipation and photoprotection mechanisms.

Forest functionality and productivity are directly related to canopy light interception and can be affected by potential damage from high irradiance. However, the mechanisms by which leaves adapt to the variable light environments along the multilayer canopy profile are still poorly known. We explored the leaf morphophysiological and metabolic responses to the natural light gradient in a pure European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.

Clinical and molecular studies related to bone metabolism in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency need glucocorticoid (GC) therapy, which alters bone mineral metabolism. We analyze clinical and biochemical parameters and different polymorphisms of candidate genes associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in CAH patients. The CAH patients treated with GC and healthy controls were studied.

Cardiac condition in young chagasic women.

Rationale: Chagas disease is a complex disorder caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Most patients remain asymptomatic for several years and 30% of them progress quietly to developing cardiomyopathy. The factors that lead to chronic myocardial lesions are not fully understood.

Prostate-specific antigen: its relationship with alcohol intake and tobacco.

To determine the influence of alcohol and tobacco consumption on serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. 59 men participated in this study: 20 with prostate tumors (PT) and 39 without tumor diagnosis (prostate controls, PC) (mean 66 and 58 years, respectively). PSA was analyzed in serum samples and its values were compared through the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test.

Validity of the Papanicolaou Smear in the Diagnosis of Candida spp., Trichomonas vaginalis, and Bacterial Vaginosis.

Objective: To determine the validity of the Papanicolaou smear in the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Candida spp.

Materials And Methods: We determined the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of Pap smears we performed in 824 symptomatic patients. We compared Pap smear diagnoses with those obtained by standard microscopic examination and Gram stain of the exudate.

Detection of bacterial vaginosis, Trichomonas vaginalis infection, and vaginal Candida infection: a comparative study of methods of extracting exudates, with and without a speculum, during pregnancy.

Purpose: To compare the collection of vaginal exudates with and without the use of a speculum to diagnose vaginal infections.

Material And Methods: We examined 45 patients with vaginal discharge. Two vaginal swabs were taken, one with and the other without a speculum.

Effects of enzymatic treatments on the biomechanical properties of screws made of bone.

Nowadays, bone tissue employed to manufacture screws used as osteosynthesis material is obtained from organ donors. But in different medical fields there is an increasing need to use xenogenic grafts and implants, which still imply risks of transmission of some diseases and antigenicity. Two different autoclaving programs (A1, A2) and an alternative to reduce the antigenicity of screws made of xenogenic bone based on enzymatic treatment are analyzed from a biomechanical point of view.