Publications by authors named "Elizabeth Franco"

Objective: To report on a simple technique of inserting any difficult urinary catheter using a hydrophilic guidewire and an angiocatheter.

Materials And Methods: A total of 764 requests were made to the urology team for assistance with a difficult urinary catheter placement. For all patients, either a regular or bent-tip catheter was attempted first.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tetranychus urticae Koch is a generalist pest of economic crops and is notorious for its rapid development of acaricide resistance. This poses a significant threat to the sustainability of integrated pest management (IPM) in cropping systems plagued by T. urticae.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites respond to the presence of IL-8, moving by chemotaxis towards the source of the chemokine. IL-8 binds to the trophozoite membrane and triggers a response that activates signaling pathways that in turn regulate actin/myosin cytoskeleton organisation to initiate migration towards the chemokine, suggesting the presence of a receptor for IL-8 in the parasite. Antibodies directed to the human IL-8 receptor (CXCR1) specifically recognised a 29 kDa protein in trophozoite membrane fractions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Trauma patients requiring acute inpatient rehabilitation are significantly injured, with increased risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). We evaluated routine screening for occult DVT in such patients, and analyzed DVT risk factors.

Materials And Methods: Data from level I trauma center patients discharged to a single acute rehabilitation center (ARC) from 2007-2011 were retrospectively reviewed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite of humans, relays on its striking motility to survive and invade host tissues. Characterization of the molecular components involved in motile processes is crucial to understand its pathogenicity. Although protein components of myosin II hexamers have been predicted from E.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The objective of this study was to evaluate and validate the accuracy of the Perkins handheld applanation tonometer for measuring intraocular pressure (IOP) in horses and cattle. Both eyes of 10 adult horses and cattle were evaluated in a postmortem study. The eyes from 10 clinically normal adult horses and cattle were also examined after bilateral auriculopalpebral nerve block and topical anesthesia for an in vivo study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Mixed intestinal infections with Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and bacteria with exacerbated manifestations of disease are common in regions where amoebiasis is endemic. However, amoeba-bacteria interactions remain largely unexamined.

Methodology: Trophozoites of E.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Interaction of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites with target cells and substrates activates signaling pathways in the parasite. Phosphorylation cascades triggered by phospho-inositide and adenyl-cyclase-dependent pathways modulate reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton to form structures that facilitate adhesion. In contrast, little is known about participation of Rho proteins and Rho signaling in actin rearrangements.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Entamoeba histolytica manifests its pathogenicity through several cellular processes triggered by external stimuli that activate signal transduction pathways. The intense secretory activity resulting from stimulation is not correlated with a typical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or Golgi organization, and little is known in this parasite about endocytic/exocytic pathways. The interactions of trophozoites with fibronectin (FN) and cultured mammalian cells, which elicit secretory activities, were chosen to study mechanisms that regulate cytoplamic traffic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Interaction of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins activates signaling pathways through G-protein-coupled receptors. Increments of adenylyl cyclase activity and cAMP produce a striking reorganization of actin into structures that apparently facilitate adhesive, locomotive, and secretory activities. The reorganization of actin is induced by phosphorylation of actin-associated proteins by diverse kinases activated during the signaling process.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF