Organochlorine contaminants in sediments and factors influencing their distribution in the natural marine protected area in the gulf of Mexico.

The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in marine sediments of a natural marine protected area (NMPA), Veracruz Reef System (VRS), in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This NMPA represents one of the first coastal sites with port activity in Mexico, which causes a range of human activities that require adequate planning so as not to impact and destroy this marine protected area; In this sense, this work represents the first effort aimed at diagnosing the presence of organochlorine contaminants in reef sediments from the mainland, both from the adjacent port area and from more distant regions with dominant agricultural activities that ultimately affect this NMPA. Content of organic matter (OM), carbonates and grain-size composition were determined to investigate their influence on compounds distribution in the sediment through multivariate analysis.

Pb geochronology and metal concentrations in sediment cores recovered in the Alvarado Lagoon system, Veracruz, Mexico.

Three sediment cores recovered from the Alvarado Lagoon System (ALS) in the Gulf of Mexico were used to reconstruct the history of metals and metalloids and their environmental importance. The sedimentary profiles were dated with Pb and verified with Cs. Maximum ages of 77 and 86 years were estimated.

An extract of Leontopodium alpinum inhibits catagen development ex vivo and increases hair density in vivo.

Objectives: Hair loss and reduction in hair volume are hallmarks of hair disorders, such as telogen effluvium, or male or female pattern hair loss, and hair ageing, which can cause severe distress in both men and women. Common anti-hair loss drugs carry some side effects; therefore, novel, safer approaches targeting milder phenotypes are highly advocated. In this context, we investigated an extract of the alpine plant Edelweiss, Leontopodium alpinum var.

The "Network Effect" on Interfacility Transfers Among Regional Stroke Certified Hospitals.

Introduction And Purpose: Timely inter-facility transfer of thrombectomy-eligible patients is a mainstay of Stroke Systems of Care. We investigated transfer patterns among stroke certified hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex (19 counties, 9,286 sq mi, > 7.7 million people), by hospital network and stroke center status.

Prevalence of latent and overt polyautoimmunity in autoimmune thyroid disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Thyroid autoimmunity is the most frequent condition involved in polyautoimmunity (PolyA). However, the frequency of latent and overt PolyA in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) as the index condition is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of these types of PolyA in patients with AITD as the index condition.

Presence of Oil Mineral Aggregates (OMAs) in Surface Sediments from Mexico's Exclusive Economic Zone, NW Gulf of Mexico.

We assessed the presence and distribution of oil mineral aggregates (OMAs) in surficial sediments of Mexican waters in the NW Gulf of Mexico, their potential sources and their correlation with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In summer of 2010, OMAs were detected in three shallow sites. In winter of 2011, OMAs were observed in ten sites, two of them in the northernmost area at > 1500 m depth.

Analysis and Tendencies of Metals and POPs in a Sediment Core from the Alvarado Lagoon System (ALS), Veracruz, Mexico.

This study focused on dating of a sediment core from the Alvarado Lagoon System, Veracruz, Mexico, calculating the sedimentation rate by using Pb to determine the tendency towards pollution by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorides, the metals Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and V, and organic matter content. The activity of total Pb and supported Pb in the samples was 83.1 and 29.

Phylogenetic evidence that both ancient vicariance and dispersal have contributed to the biogeographic patterns of anchialine cave shrimps.

Cave shrimps from the genera Typhlatya, Stygiocaris and Typhlopatsa (Atyidae) are restricted to specialised coastal subterranean habitats or nearby freshwaters and have a highly disconnected distribution (Eastern Pacific, Caribbean, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Madagascar, Australia). The combination of a wide distribution and a limited dispersal potential suggests a large-scale process has generated this geographic pattern. Tectonic plates that fragment ancestral ranges (vicariance) has often been assumed to cause this process, with the biota as passive passengers on continental blocks.

Interannual variability of soft-bottom macrobenthic communities of the NW Gulf of Mexico in relationship to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A 3-year research program was undertaken to assess potential environmental disturbance caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the soft-bottom macrobenthic communities within Mexican waters of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Community properties and temporal/spatial variability were analyzed besides toxicant parameters such as hydrocarbons and trace-metals. Overall infaunal density increased, taxa proportion changed, and small-size opportunistic organisms prevailed throughout the study.

Quantification of Vibrio species in oysters from the Gulf of Mexico with two procedures based on MPN and PCR.

Oysters can accumulate potentially pathogenic water bacteria. The objective of this study was to compare two procedures to quantify Vibrio species present in oysters to determine the most sensitive method. We analyzed oyster samples from the Gulf of Mexico, commercialized in Mexico City.

A chemical status predictor. A methodology based on World-Wide sediment samples.

As a consequence of the limited resources of underdeveloped countries and the limited interest of the developed ones, the assessment of the chemical quality of entire water bodies around the world is a utopia in the near future. The methodology described here may serve as a first approach for the fast identification of water bodies that do not meet the good chemical status demanded by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). It also allows estimating the natural background (or reference values of concentration) of the areas under study using a simple criterion.

Chikungunya virus infection: first detection of imported and autochthonous cases in Panama.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that was only endemic in Africa and south Asia until 2005 and 2006, when the virus spread into the Indian Ocean islands, Europe, and Asia. Autochthonous CHIKV transmission in the Caribbean islands was reported in December of 2013. In Panama, two febrile cases were detected in May of 2014: one traveling from Haiti, and the other traveling from the Dominican Republic.

External validation of the OHTS-EGPS model for predicting the 5-year risk of open-angle glaucoma in ocular hypertensives.

Aims: To independently evaluate and compare the performance of the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study-European Glaucoma Prevention Study (OHTS-EGPS) prediction equation for estimating the 5-year risk of open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in four cohorts of adults with ocular hypertension.

Methods: Data from two randomised controlled trials and two observational studies were analysed individually to assess transferability of the prediction equation between different geographical locations and settings. To make best use of the data and to avoid bias, missing predictor values were imputed using multivariate imputation by chained equations.

Systematic review of the agreement of tonometers with Goldmann applanation tonometry.

Objective: To assess the agreement of tonometers available for clinical practice with the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT), the most commonly accepted reference device.

Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis of directly comparative studies assessing the agreement of 1 or more tonometers with the reference tonometer (GAT).

Participants: A total of 11 582 participants (15 525 eyes) were included.

Pollution by organochlorine pesticides in Navachiste-Macapule, Sinaloa, Mexico.

The lagoon system of Navachiste-Macapule is located in northern Mexico, in the state of Sinaloa, with an area of 24,000 ha. The main economic activity in the area is agriculture, and the lagoon lies next to the irrigation district ID-063 which covers 116,615 ha. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the levels of pollution generated by organochlorine pesticides (OC) in the surface sediments of the lagoon and in the agricultural drains of the ID-063 that are supposedly transported into the system as a result of agricultural activities and runoff from adjacent land.

Effects of tamoxifen versus raloxifene on retinal capillary endothelial cell proliferation.

Purpose: Endothelial cell proliferation in angiogenesis is active in conditions such as cancers and diabetic retinopathy. Tamoxifen (T) and raloxifene (R) have been compared in numerous studies as a prophylaxis for breast cancer, and T is used to treat breast cancer. T, unlike R, has been linked to an increase in uterine cancers, thrombo-embolic events, and cataract.

Effects of heavy metals on the oyster (Crassostrea virginica) at Mandinga Lagoon, Veracruz, Mexico.

The Mandinga Lagoon in the Mexican State of Veracruz is an important ecological zone that produces 32% of the oyster output in the state of Veracruz, the main oyster producer in Mexico. Samples of water, sediment, and oysters were collected in 2003 and 2004 to study heavy metal pollution. Metal concentrations were determined in water, soil, and oyster tissues from fresh and detoxified Crassostrea virginica, and histology samples were analyzed.

Organochlorine pesticides in lacustrine sediments and tilapias of Metztitlan, Hidalgo, Mexico.

The organochlorine pesticides (OP) are very stable molecules, due to this stability; they are very resistant in the environment and highly related to fat tissues with a wide diffusion property and an average time life higher then 10 years. We studied sediments (November 2001, April and June 2002) and organisms collected in April and July (2002) from the lacustric zone of Metzitlán, Hidalgo, Mexico. The analysis was performed according to UNEP/IAEA (1982) (sediments) and UNEP/FAO/IOC/IAEA (1986) (organisms) methods.

Systematic review of dermoscopy and digital dermoscopy/ artificial intelligence for the diagnosis of melanoma.

Background: Dermoscopy improves diagnostic accuracy of the unaided eye for melanoma, and digital dermoscopy with artificial intelligence or computer diagnosis has also been shown useful for the diagnosis of melanoma. At present there is no clear evidence regarding the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy compared with artificial intelligence.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy and digital dermoscopy/artificial intelligence for melanoma diagnosis and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the different dermoscopic algorithms with each other and with digital dermoscopy/artificial intelligence for the detection of melanoma.

Effect of cadmium, chromium, lead and metal mixtures on survival and growth of juveniles of the scallop Argopecten ventricosus (Sowerby II, 1842).

The effects of Cd, Cr, Pb and their mixtures on the growth and sensitivity of the scallop Argopecten ventricosus were analyzed in this study. Cadmium showed to be more toxic metal to juveniles (96 hour median lethal concentration (LC(50)) = 0.396 mg Cd/L), followed by lead (LC(50) = 0.

Pesticides distribution in sediments of a tropical coastal lagoon adjacent to an irrigation district in northwest Mexico.

This work presents the content of organochlorine (OCs) pesticides in sediments of both, agricultural drains from the Irrigation District 076, El Carrizo, Sinaloa, and of the adjacent coastal lagoon ecosystem of Agiabampo-Bacorehuis-Jitzamuri, located in northwest Mexico. A questionnaire was applied to the farmers of this irrigation district, to evaluate the usage of pesticides and to determine if banned OCs are still used. Around 31 tons of active ingredients were applied in the autumn-winter cycle (1997-1998).