Molecular identification of Entamoeba histolytica, E. dispar, and E. moshkovskii in children with diarrhea from Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Introduction: Entamoeba histolytica is an amebiasis-producing parasite. However, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba moshkovskii, and Entamoeba bangladeshi are nonpathogenic amoebae morphologically identical to it and, therefore, molecular techniques are required for their differentiation. Objective: To determine the frequency of Entamoeba species by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in fecal samples from children under five years with diarrhea from Maracaibo (Venezuela).

Surgical Dynamometer to Simultaneously Measure the Tension Forces and the Distance between Wound Edges during the Closure of a Laparotomy.

The closure of the abdominal wall after making a laparotomy is a major challenge for surgeons, since a significant percentage of closures fail and incisional hernias rise. The suture has to withstand the forces required to close the incision, while not hindering the adequate wound healing progression. Currently, there is no surgical measuring device that could be used to determine the required closing forces, which can be very different depending on the patient.

[Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in workers of bovine tuberculosis sanitation farms in Antioquia, Boyacá and Cundinamarca].

Objective: To perform classic and molecular epidemiological surveillance of human tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in bovine supply chains at farms with PPD positive bovines in the departments of Antioquia, Boyacá and Cundinamarca during a one-year period.

Methods: Livestock farms with PPD positive bovines or buffalos were visited in the study departments according to information obtained in the "Programa Nacional de Tuberculosis bovina" (National program on bovine Tuberculosis) released by ICA (Colombian Agriculture and Livestock Institute). Data on socio-demographic information and tuberculosis risk factors associated to the occupation were collected through a survey applied to all workers at the visited farms.

Nanoparticulate strategies for the treatment of polyglutamine diseases by halting the protein aggregation process.

Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases are a class of neurodegenerative disorders that cause cellular dysfunction and, eventually, neuronal death in specific regions of the brain. Neurodegeneration is linked to the misfolding and aggregation of expanded polyQ-containing proteins, and their inhibition is one of major therapeutic strategies used commonly. However, successful treatment has been limited to date because of the intrinsic properties of therapeutic agents (poor water solubility, low bioavailability, poor pharmacokinetic properties), and difficulty in crossing physiological barriers, including the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Drug Release from Inert Spherical Matrix Systems Using Monte Carlo Simulations.

Background: Computational approaches for predicting release properties from matrix devices have recently been purposed as an approach to better understand and predict such systems. The objective of this research is to study the behavior of drug delivery from inert spherical matrix systems of different size by means of computer simulation.

Methods: To simulate the matrix medium, a simple cubic lattice was used, which was sectioned to make a spherical macroscopic system.

PREBIOUS trial: a multicenter randomized controlled trial of PREventive midline laparotomy closure with a BIOabsorbable mesh for the prevention of incisional hernia: rationale and design.

Background: Development of an incisional hernia is one of the most frequent complications of midline laparotomies requiring reoperation. This paper presents the rationale, design, and study protocol for a randomized controlled trial, the aim of which is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of prophylactically placing a bioabsorbable synthetic mesh for reinforcement of a midline fascial closure.

Methods: The PREBIOUS trial (PREventive midline laparotomy closure with a BIOabsorbable mesh) is a multicenter randomized controlled trial in which adult patients undergoing elective or urgent open abdominal operations through a midline laparotomy incision are assigned to one of two groups based on the laparotomy closure procedure: an intervention group in which a continuous polydioxanone (PDS) suture is reinforced with a commercially available GORE® BIO-A® Tissue Reinforcement prosthesis (W.

[Prevalence of intestinal microsporidia and other intestinal parasites in hiv positive patients from Maracaibo, Venezuela].

Objective: To detect the presence of microsporidia and other enteric parasites in patients with HIVAIDS of the Autonomous Services University Hospital of Maracaibo (SAHUM), where there are no previous studies in this field.

Materials And Methods: Fecal samples were analyzed by means of direct exam, concetration method with formal-ether, Kinyoun coloration and fast Gram-Chromotrope coloration. Separate PCR were perfomed to differentiate Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar , when the E.

[Detection of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar by PCR in children, less than five years of age with diarrhea, in Maracaibo, Venezuela. A preliminary study].

To determine the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica as a producer of diarrhea, a study was conducted in children, less than five years of age, with diarrhea who attended several out patient clinics of the Servicio Aut6nomo Hospital Universitario, Maracaibo, Venezuela. A macroscopic and microscopic examination with physiological saline, lugol and Kinyoun staining were performed to the stool samples obtained. The remainder of the sample was frozen until DNA extraction, and PCR amplification was performed separately for E.

Correlation between compactibility values and excipient cluster size using an in silico approach.

Background: In silico simulation and percolation theory are important tools in the study of physical and mechanical behavior of pharmaceutical compacts. The aim was to generate a new in silico simulation program that describes the mechanical structure of binary compacts formed from an excipient with excellent compactibility and a drug with null compactibility.

Materials And Methods: Paracetamol and microcrystalline cellulose powders were compressed under different pressures.

Parameters affecting drug release from inert matrices. 1: Monte Carlo simulation.

This study investigates the use of Monte Carlo simulation for the determination of release properties from cubic inert matrices. Specifically, the study has focused on factors including porosity, surface area and tortuosity. The release platform was formed by simulating matrices with different ratios of drug and excipient, which undergo drug release in a uni-directional (two-face) or omni-directional (six-face) process.

[Isolation and identification of Malassezia species isolated from healthy skin of malnourished and eutrophic children cared for in daycare centers in Venezuela].

The Malassezia genus contains a group of lipophilic yeasts that form part of the normal microbiota of human and animals skins. The presence of Malassezia species was studied on healthy skin in children, who attended day care centers, located in Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela. Children without skin lesions that were anthropometrically classified as malnourished (48) and eutrophics (40), were studied.

Monte Carlo simulations for the study of drug release from cylindrical matrix systems with an inert nucleus.

In this work, drug release from matrices with an inert nucleus using Monte Carlo simulation was studied. Drug-excipient systems were simulated, where the drug is a soluble material while the excipient is a non-soluble material. In the center of these devices, an inert nucleus was placed.

Effect of the drug-excipient ratio in matrix-type-controlled release systems: computer simulation study.

The main objective of this work is to study the drug release behavior from inert matrix systems by using computer simulation. This study allowed us to propose a new statistical method to evaluate the drug percolation threshold as a function of the exposed surface area of the device. The matrix system was simulated as a simple cubic lattice.