Induced sputum as an adequate clinical specimen for the etiological diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children and adolescents.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the utility of induced sputum (IS) for the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in pediatric population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included pediatric population aged between 1 month and 17 years who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of CAP in 13 hospitals in Colombia, in whom an IS sample was obtained. Gram staining, aerobic bacterial and mycobacterial culture tests, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for 6 atypical bacteria and 15 respiratory viruses were performed.

Effects of pre-treating in vitro-matured bovine oocytes with the cytoskeleton stabilizing agent taxol prior to vitrification.

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of pre-treating mature bovine oocytes with Taxol before vitrification by the open pulled Straw method (OPS). We evaluated the effects of pre-treating the oocytes with 1 microM Taxol on chromosome organization, spindle morphology, cortical granule distribution and the ability of fertilized oocytes to develop to the blastocyst stage. After calf or cow oocyte vitrification without Taxol, significantly higher proportions of spindle abnormalities in the form of abnormal spindle structures or dispersed or decondensed chromosomes were observed compared to fresh control oocytes.

Vitrification of calf oocytes: effects of maturation stage and prematuration treatment on the nuclear and cytoskeletal components of oocytes and their subsequent development.

This study was designed to establish the effects of the meiotic stage of bovine oocytes and of a prematuration treatment with roscovitine (ROS) on their resistance to cryopreservation. Oocytes from prepubertal calves at the stages of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) or at metaphase II (MII) were vitrified by the open pulled straw (OPS) method. In another experiment, oocytes were kept under meiotic arrest with 50 microM ROS for 24 hr and vitrified at the GVBD stage.

Effects of roscovitine on the nuclear and cytoskeletal components of calf oocytes and their subsequent development.

Roscovitine, a potent inhibitor of M-phase promoting factor kinase activity, was used to maintain calf oocytes at the germinal vesicle stage for a 24h culture period. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were first prematured for 24h in the presence of different levels of roscovitine (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 microM).

Effects of vitrification in open pulled straws on the cytology of in vitro matured prepubertal and adult bovine oocytes.

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of the cryopreservation of oocytes obtained from prepubertal calves or adult cows on chromosome organization, spindle morphology, cytoskeleton structures, and the ability of fertilized oocytes to develop to the blastocyst stage. Once in vitro matured (IVM), the oocytes were divided into three groups according to whether they were: (1) left untreated (control); (2) exposed to cryoprotectant agents (CPAs); or (3) cryopreserved by the open-pulled-straw (OPS) vitrification method. After thawing, oocyte samples were fixed, stained using specific fluorescent probes and examined under a confocal microscope.

Vitrification of immature and in vitro matured pig oocytes: study of distribution of chromosomes, microtubules, and actin microfilaments.

Studies were conducted to compare viability of immature and mature porcine oocytes vitrified in ethylene glycol (EG) using open-pulled straws (OPS). Oocytes that had been allowed to mature for 12 h (germinal vesicle group; GV) and 40 h (metaphase II group; MII) were divided into three treatments: (1) control; (2) treated with cytochalasin B and exposed to EG; and (3) treated with cytochalasin B and vitrified by stepwise exposure to EG in OPS. After warming, a sample of oocytes was fixed and evaluated by specific fluorescent probes before visualization using confocal microscopy.