Does performing a Point-Of-Care HbA1c test increase the chances of undertaking an OGTT among individuals at risk of diabetes? A randomized controlled trial.

Aims: Early detection of type 2 diabetes mellitus is key to reducing micro and macrovascular complications associated with this disease. However, a lab-based process for diagnosis entails the risk of loss-to-follow-up. The objective of this study was to demonstrate if performing a point-of-care test of HbA1c immediately after a screening questionnaire will increase the proportion of individuals showing up for a lab-based confirmatory test as Point-of-care (POC) provides immediate availability, which is expected to reduce loss-to-follow-up.

Managed competition in Colombia: convergence of public and private insurance and delivery.

The Colombian health system has made a deep transition into managed competition since a major reform in 1993. A market for insurers was created, the consumer has free choice of insurer and a national-level equalisation fund distributes revenues via a per-capita payment. Fully subsidised insurance for the poor and informal, and a comprehensive standardised benefit package for subsidised and contributory schemes (both schemes covering 98 per cent of the population), has led to a low level of out-of-pocket expenses and high financial protection, as well as to reduced gaps in equity in access.

Impact of intraoperative colonoscopy on anastomotic leakage detection and prevention in colorectal anastomosis for rectal cancer.

Introduction And Aim: The value of leakage testing during colorectal resections to identify anastomotic leaks or bleeding has not been established. Our aim was to compare the impact of intraoperative colonoscopy (IOC) versus insufflation with a syringe, as leakage testing in lower anterior resection (LAR) for rectal cancer, with respect to the incidence of postoperative leakage (PL).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study utilizing a prospective database of 426 patients with rectal cancer that underwent elective LAR, within the time frame of January 2015 and December 2019, was conducted.

Practice-Changing Use of the 21-Gene Test for the Management of Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer in Latin America.

Purpose: We present a physician survey of the impact of 21-gene Breast Recurrence Score test results on treatment decisions in clinical practice in Latin America.

Methods: This prospective survey enrolled consecutive patients at 14 sites in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru who had routine 21-gene testing. Physician surveys captured patient and tumor characteristics and treatment decisions before and after 21-gene test results.

Medicinal Herbs and Nutritional Supplements for Dementia Therapy: Potential Targets and Clinical Evidence.

Spices and herbs have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Also, in the last decades, the use of different nutritional supplements has been implemented to treat all kinds of diseases, including those that present an alteration in cognitive functioning. Dementia is a clinical syndrome in which a person's mental and cognitive capacities gradually decline.

Mutations in the Helicobacter pylori 23S rRNA gene associated with clarithromycin resistance in patients at an endoscopy unit in Medellín, Colombia.

Introduction: Clarithromycin is the first-line antibiotic for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. Bacterial resistance is mainly due to the presence of specific mutations in the 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. Objective: To determine the frequency of A2143G and A2142G specific mutations in the 23S rRNA gene associated with clarithromycin resistance of H.

Novel clinical scores for occupational asthma due to exposure to high-molecular-weight agents.

Objective: Specific inhalation challenge (SIC) as the reference diagnostic test for occupational asthma (OA) is not widely available worldwide. We aimed to develop non-SIC-based models for OA.

Methods: Of 427 workers who were exposed to high-molecular-weight agents and referred to OA clinic at Montréal Sacré-Cœur Hospital between 1983 and 2016, we analysed 160 workers who completed non-specific bronchial hyper-responsiveness (NSBHR) tests and still worked 1 month before SIC.

If I indulge first, I will eat less overall: The unexpected interaction effect of indulgence and presentation order on consumption.

Across 4 experiments, this research is the first to uncover the interaction effect of food type (indulgent vs. healthy) and food presentation order (first vs. last) on individuals' sequential food choices and their overall caloric intake.

Inflammatory proteins in nasal lavage of workers exposed to occupational agents.

Background: Low-molecular-weight (LMW) and high-molecular-weight (HMW) agents have been recognized as causes of occupational rhinitis (OR). Immunological mechanisms underlying OR differ according to the type of exposure. While HMW agents act mainly through IgE-mediated mechanisms, LMW agents appear to act through both immunological and non-immunological mechanisms.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Inflammatory Markers for Diagnosing Occupational Asthma.

Background: The assessment of airway responsiveness and inflammation is key to the investigation of occupational asthma (OA).

Objective: We sought to assess and compare the diagnostic accuracies of the blood and sputum eosinophil counts and the methacholine challenge for the diagnosis of OA.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study assessing 618 patients who underwent specific inhalation challenges (SICs) for symptoms suggestive of OA between 2000 and 2015.

New model of pharmacoresistant seizures induced by 3-mercaptopropionic acid in mice.

About 30% of the patients with epilepsy do not respond to clinically established anticonvulsants, despite having effective concentrations of the antiepileptic drug in plasma. Therefore, new preclinical models of epilepsy are needed to identify more efficacious treatments. We describe here a new drug-resistant seizure model in mice to be used at the early stages of pre-clinical trials.

Novel sulfamides and sulfamates derived from amino esters: Synthetic studies and anticonvulsant activity.

We report herein the design and optimization of a novel series of sulfamides and sulfamates derived from amino esters with anticonvulsant properties. The structures were designed based on the pharmacophoric pattern previously proposed, with the aim of improving the anticonvulsant action. The compounds were obtained by a new synthetic procedure with microwave assisted heating and the use of adsorbents in the isolation process.

Human nonsense-mediated mRNA decay factor UPF2 interacts directly with eRF3 and the SURF complex.

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is an mRNA degradation pathway that regulates gene expression and mRNA quality. A complex network of macromolecular interactions regulates NMD initiation, which is only partially understood. According to prevailing models, NMD begins by the assembly of the SURF (SMG1-UPF1-eRF1-eRF3) complex at the ribosome, followed by UPF1 activation by additional factors such as UPF2 and UPF3.

Towards a framework for business model innovation in health care delivery in developing countries.

Background: Uncertainty and information asymmetries in health care are the basis for a supply-sided mindset in the health care industry and for a business model for hospitals and doctor's practices; these two models have to be challenged with business model innovation. The three elements which ensure this are standardizability, separability, and patient-centeredness. As scientific evidence advances and outcomes are more predictable, standardization is more feasible.

Occupational rhinitis due to steel welding fumes.

Exposure to welding fumes is a recognized respiratory hazard. Occupational asthma but not occupational rhinitis has been documented in workers exposed to steel welding fumes. We report a 26-year-old male with work-related rhinitis symptoms as well as lower airways symptoms suggestive of occupational asthma and metal fume fever associated with exposure to steel welding fumes.

Structures of SMG1-UPFs complexes: SMG1 contributes to regulate UPF2-dependent activation of UPF1 in NMD.

SMG1, a PI3K-related kinase, plays a critical role in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) in mammals. SMG1-mediated phosphorylation of the UPF1 helicase is an essential step during NMD initiation. Both SMG1 and UPF1 are presumably activated by UPF2, but this regulation is incompletely understood.

Spanish consensus on sexual health in men and women over 50.

Sexual health has been defined as "the state of physical, emotional and social wellbeing related to sexuality. However, there are medical, psychological and social reasons that complicate full sexual health that are frequently not attended to sufficiently. The objective of this guide will be to analyze the factors that impact the sexual health of men and women over 50 and to provide recommendations for the most appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic measures for this age group.

Systemic inflammatory markers as independent prognosticators of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of the pretreatment inflammatory markers platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with HNSCC at McGill University Health Center from 2000 to 2011 (273 patients were retained). Hematologic parameters were recorded within 4 weeks of diagnosis.

Specific inhalation challenge with flour induced release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in nasal fluid.

Background: Neurotrophins may play a role in the pathophysiology of allergic occupational rhinitis (OR). We sought to investigate whether an immediate allergic reaction that induces nasal inflammation is also able to induce changes in levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in nasal lavage (NAL) fluid from patients with allergic OR.

Methods: Ten patients sensitized to flour underwent control and active specific inhalation challenge (SIC) on consecutive days.

First Report of Canker Disease Caused by Neofusicoccum parvum and N. australe on Blueberry Bushes in Spain.

A field survey conducted in September 2009 at five plantations of six different cultivars of southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) in Huelva, Spain, yielded 35 diseased plants. Diseased plants exhibited red-brown cankers and stem dieback.

Challenge exposure to isocyanates induces changes in nasal patency in patients reporting work-related respiratory symptoms.

Objective: To examine the utility of specific inhalation challenge (SIC) in assessing the nasal congestive response to isocyanate exposure.

Methods: Nine patients complaining of work-related respiratory symptoms underwent SIC with exposure to isocyanate for 4 and 120 minutes on different days. Nasal volume was monitored by acoustic rhinometry and nasal congestion by the visual analogue scale (VAS) for up to 6 hours.