Dynamics of Insulin Signaling in the Black-Legged Tick, .

Insulin-like peptides (ILPs) have been identified in several invertebrates, particularly insects, and work on these ILPs has revealed many roles including regulation of energy homeostasis, growth, development, and lifespan to name a few. However, information on arthropod ILPs outside of insects is sparse. Studies of Ixodid tick ILPs are particularly scarce, despite their importance as vectors of infectious agents, most notably Lyme disease.

Presence of enteric viruses in water samples for consumption in Colombia: Challenges for supply systems.

Introduction: Since drinking water can be a vehicle for the transmission of pathogens, the detection of enteric viruses in these water samples is essential to establish the appropriate measures to control and prevent associated diseases. 

Objective: To analyze the results obtained for enteric viruses in water samples for human consumption received at the Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud and establish their association with the data on water quality in Colombian municipalities. 

Materials And Methods: We conducted a descriptive-retrospective analysis of the results obtained in the detection of rotavirus, enterovirus, hepatitis A virus and adenovirus in water samples received for complementary studies of enteric hepatitis, acute diarrheal disease and foodborne diseases.

[Quality of water for human consumption and its association with morbimortality in Colombia, 2008-2012].

Introduction: The quality of water for human consumption has been correlated with the occurrence of different diseases. Studying the relationship between these parameters would allow determining the impact of water quality on human health, and to direct preventative measures and promote environmental health.

Objective: To analyze the quality of water intended for human consumption and its association with morbimortality in Colombia, 2008-2012.

[Surveillance of drinking-water quality: assessing the degree of implementation of actions].

This study aims to evaluate the Drinking-Water Quality Surveillance Programme (DWQS) implemented in Colombia. The study was conducted using methodology for assessing the implementation, integrating a normative assessment and evaluation research. For this assessment, Delphi methodology was developed that allowed the definition of an evaluation matrix, composed of 14 attributes and 62 criteria, as well as the building of a score system and parameters that permitted the evaluation of each of the defined criteria.

Implication of chromosome 18 in hypertension by sibling pair and association analyses: putative involvement of the RKHD2 gene.

This study aims to test the implication of regions on chromosomes 9, 17, and 18 in essential hypertension (EH) by combining sibling-pair linkage analysis and case-control association studies. The selection of these chromosomal regions is based on previous evidence of their implication in EH or in related phenotypes by comparative genomics in several rat models and from genome-wide linkage studies in humans. For the affected sibling-pair linkage analysis, 27 microsatellite markers were genotyped in 56 pedigrees from Spain with hypertensive sibling pairs.

A single nucleotide polymorphism alters the activity of the renal Na+:Cl- cotransporter and reveals a role for transmembrane segment 4 in chloride and thiazide affinity.

The thiazide-sensitive Na+:Cl- cotransporter is the major salt transport pathway in the distal convoluted tubule of the kidney, and a role of this cotransporter in blood pressure homeostasis has been defined by physiological studies on pressure natriuresis and by its involvement in monogenic diseases that feature arterial hypotension or hypertension. Data base analysis revealed that 135 single nucleotide polymorphisms along the human SLC12A3 gene that encodes the Na+:Cl- cotransporter have been reported. Eight are located within the coding region, and one results in a single amino acid change; the residue glycine at the position 264 is changed to alanine (G264A).

The prothrombin 20210A allele influences clinical manifestations of hemophilia A in patients with intron 22 inversion and without inhibitors.

Background And Objectives: The modulation of disease severity in hemophilia A (HA) patients may be related to the co-inheritance of mutations in genes with a known thrombotic effect such as factor V Leiden (FVL) and prothrombin. In the Spanish population, the prothrombin 20210A (PT20210A) allele is the most prevalent genetic risk factor for venous thromboembolism.

Design And Methods: We investigated the presence of both mutations in a cohort of 265 hemophiliac patients divided into two groups: I) 140 unrelated patients with moderate and mild HA and II) 125 unrelated patients with severe HA (83 carrying an inversion of intron 22).