Objective: To conduct a point prevalence survey (PPS) of antibiotic use in the main pediatric tertiary-level hospital in Panama City to establish antibiotic prevalence and identify key areas for addressing antimicrobial resistance.
Methods: This point prevalence survey (PPS) conducted in a tertiary-level hospital in Panama followed the Pan American Health Organization's adaptation of the methodology proposed by the World Health Organization for PPSs on antibiotic use. Information obtained included patients' demographic characteristics, antimicrobial prescriptions, indication for antimicrobial use, and prescription's adherence to guidelines.
Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is caused by the invasion of larvae in the central nervous system (CNS) and stands as the predominant cause of epilepsy and other neurological disorders in many developing nations. NCC diagnosis is challenging because it relies on brain imaging exams (CT or MRI), which are poorly available in endemic rural or resource-limited areas. Moreover, some NCC cases cannot be easily detected by imaging, leading to inconclusive results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a widespread neglected zoonotic disease caused by (EG) with a global burden of control in the billions of dollars. life cycle involves definitive, intermediate, and humans as dead-end hosts. Echinococcosis control programs use strategies that focus on any of these hosts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStaphylococcus aureus infections and its biofilm removal is an important concern in health care management. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus is responsible for severe morbidity and mortality worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer will remain one of the most significant challenges for public health, locally and globally. Currently, cancer is the leading cause of death in our country. Thanks to the enormous knowledge accumulated in recent decades on the cellular and molecular bases of cancer, precision oncology has been developed, an approach that allows for increasingly precise pharmacological treatment based on diagnostic tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Opin Infect Dis
October 2024
Human dietary exposure to chemical compounds is a priority issue for public health authorities since it constitutes a key step in risk assessment, and food packaging could be an important source of contamination. In this study, the bioaccessibility of cyclodi-BADGE was evaluated in canned seafood samples using a standardized protocol of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and an analytical method based on liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The impact of enzymes, different gastric pHs, and food-covering liquids on the bioaccessibility of cyclodi-BADGE was studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubarachnoid neurocysticercosis (SANCC) is caused by an abnormally transformed form of the metacestode or larval form of the tapeworm Taenia solium. In contrast to vesicular parenchymal and ventricular located cysts that contain a viable scolex and are anlage of the adult tapeworm, the subarachnoid cyst proliferates to form aberrant membranous cystic masses within the subarachnoid spaces that cause mass effects and acute and chronic arachnoiditis. How subarachnoid cyst proliferates and interacts with the human host is poorly understood, but parasite stem cells (germinative cells) likely participate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpectator ions have known and emerging roles in aqueous metal-cation chemistry, respectively directing solubility, speciation, and reactivity. Here, we isolate and structurally characterize the last two metastable members of the alkali uranyl triperoxide series, the Rb and Cs salts (Cs-U and Rb-U). We document their rapid solution polymerization via small-angle X-ray scattering, which is compared to the more stable Li, Na and K analogues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The condition of monozygotic, monochorionic triplet fetuses with a pair of conjoined twins is extremely rare (close to one in a million births), presents challenges in its management, and with poor prognosis.
Case Report: We report a case of monochorionic diamniotic triplet pregnancy, ultrasound at 14 weeks shows a pair of conjoined thoracopagus fetuses, sharing heart, liver, and umbilical cord, in addition to omphalocele. The third fetus, without malformations, presents signs of early heart failure compatible with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
Background: In refractory respiratory failure (RF), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a salvage therapy that seeks to reduce lung injury induced by mechanical ventilation. The parameters of optimal mechanical ventilation in children during ECMO are not known. Pulmonary ventilatory management during this therapy may impact mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) detects antibodies against seven larvae antigens in three protein families (GP50, T24/42, and 8-kDa) with different structures and functions. EITB banding patterns against these antigens in pigs provide information about the course of infection and may discriminate viable cysticercosis. We analyzed the banding patterns and infection outcomes (presence of viable cysts, degenerated cysts, and any cysts) of 512 rural pigs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFControlling the formation of supramolecular protein assemblies and endowing them with new properties that can lead to novel functional materials is an important but challenging task. In this work, a new hybrid polyoxometalate is designed to induce controlled intermolecular bridging between biotin-binding proteins. Such bridging interactions lead to the formation of supramolecular protein assemblies incorporating metal-oxo clusters that go from several nanometers in diameter up to the micron range.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite 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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To explore the role of the proinflammatory cytokine, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), in a murine model of dry eye disease (DED).
Methods: The role of MIF on DED was determined using genetically MIF deficient mice and pharmacological inhibition of MIF. DED was induced with 0.
Spent nuclear fuel contains heavy element fission products that must be separated for effective reprocessing for a safe and sustainable nuclear fuel cycle. Zr and Tc are high-yield fission products that co-transport in liquid-liquid extraction processes. Here we seek atomic-level information of this co-extraction process, as well as fundamental knowledge about Zr (and Hf ) aqueous speciation in the presence of topology-directing ligands such as pertechnetate (TcO ) and non-radioactive surrogate perrhenate (ReO ).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurocysticercosis (NCC) is the most common helminthic infection of the human central nervous system. The antibody detection assay of choice is the enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot assay using lentil-lectin purified parasite antigens (LLGP-EITB, Western blot), an immunoassay with exceptional performance in clinical samples. However, its use is mainly restricted to a few research laboratories because the assay is labor-intensive and requires sophisticated equipment, expertise, and large amounts of parasite material for preparation of reagents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Lumbar fractures and/or multiple fractures at the lumbar or thoracolumbar regions are risk factors for sagittal malalignment in patients older than 70 years old. Although patients with OVF show a huge capacity to compensate after the fractures, lumbar and TL lumbar fractures require closer monitoring.
Purpose: To assess the impact of osteoporotic vertebral fractures on the sagittal alignment of the elderly and identify risk factors for sagittal malalignment.