Human Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to Heavy Metals via Dietary Intake of Rainbow Trout in the Influence Area of a Smelting Facility Located in Peru.

Abandoned mining-metallurgical sites can significantly impact the environment and human health by accumulating heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems. The water in the sub-basin near an abandoned smelting facility in the city of La Oroya, Peru, is primarily used for pisciculture. The objective of this study was to assess the risk to human health from exposure to heavy metals via dietary intake of rainbow trout () in the influence area of a smelting facility located in the central Andean region of Peru.

A Classic Presentation of Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare malignancy, of uncertain differentiation, which more commonly affects adolescents and young adult males; it usually has an intra-abdominal location. We describe the case of a 35-year-old male who presented initially with occasional abdominal pain, and subsequently with abdominal mass sensation, without any other associated symptoms. Imaging studies reported an intra-abdominal mass located in mesogastrium, right hypochondrium, and right lumbar region, without clear evidence of infiltration to secondary structures, but with clear peritoneal spread to greater omentum and pelvis.

Leveraging mobile phone surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador and Sri Lanka: Methods, timeline and findings.

Effective and rapid decision making during a pandemic requires data not only about infections, but also about human behavior. Mobile phone surveys (MPS) offer the opportunity to collect real-time data on behavior, exposure, knowledge, and perception, as well as care and treatment to inform decision making. The surveys aimed to collect coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related information in Ecuador and Sri Lanka using mobile phones.

Lyme Neuroborreliosis is a Severe and Frequent Neurological Disease in Mexico.

Objective: To describe clinical cases with neurological manifestations associated with Borrelia burgdorferi infection in a large cohort of children and adults from Mexico.

Material And Methods: Patients with neurological manifestation (cranial neuritis, radiculoneuritis, meningitis and encephalomyelitis) were recruited in one pediatric and two general hospitals, during January 2006-December 2015. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were drawn from each patient at inclusion.

[Characteristics of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and febrile neutropenia in children and adolescents cared for in a hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador].

With the objective of performing a clinical characterization of children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and febrile neutropenia in a hospital in Ecuador, a case series study was carried out, which involved reviewing the clinical records of patients receiving care at "Hospital de la Sociedad de Lucha Contra el Cancer" in Guayaquil between January 2014 and April 2016. Out of the 101 patients, 51.5% were female; mean age was 5.

Gram-negative infections in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units of Latin America.

In order to review the epidemiology of Gram-negative infections in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units (PICUs and NICUs) of Latin America a systematic search of PubMed and targeted search of SciELO was performed to identify relevant articles published since 2005. Independent cohort data indicated that overall infection rates were higher in Latin American PICUs and NICUs versus developed countries (range, 5%-37% vs 6%-15%, respectively). Approximately one third of Latin American patients with an acquired PICU or NICU infection died, and crude mortality was higher among extremely low-birth-weight infants and those with an infection caused by Gram-negative bacteria.

[QacEdelta1 gene frequency and biocide resistance in extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates].

Objective: To determine the frequency of the gene qacEdelta1 and characterize the resistance to biocides of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases producing enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) obtained from clinical isolates causing nosocomial infections.

Material And Methods: In total 59 ESBL-PE causing nosocomial infections were included: Klebsiella pneumoniae (35) and Enterobacter cloacae (24). Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was tested for chlorhexidine (CHX) and benzalkonium chloride (CLBZ) by agar dilution technique.

Crosstalk between endogenous and synthetic components--synthetic signaling meets endogenous components.

Synthetic biology uses biological components to engineer new functionality in living organisms. We have used the tools of synthetic biology to engineer detector plants that can sense man-made chemicals, such as the explosive trinitrotoluene, and induce a response detectable by eye or instrumentation. A goal of this type of work is to make the designed system orthogonal, that is, able to function independently of systems in the host.

Audiologic and vestibular findings in a sample of human immunodeficiency virus type-1-infected Mexican children under highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: There is little information about audiologic and vestibular disorders in pediatric patients infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 (HIV-1). The aim of this study was to evaluate audiologic and vestibular disorders in a sample of HIV-1-infected children receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy.

Methods: Patients underwent pure tone audiometry, speech discrimination testing, auditory brainstem responses, electronystagmography, and rotatory testing.

High-virulence clone of group B streptococci unable to grow at high temperatures is present in serotypes other than type III.

Highly virulent clonotypes of serotype III seem to cause much of the perinatal morbidity and mortality attributed to Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococci, GBS), One of these clonal types, designated the "high-virulence clone" (HVC), was identified by its inability to grow at 40 degrees C in a chemically defined medium. In the present study, this inability to grow at high temperatures was used as a marker to identify HVC in a sample of 286 Mexican GBS isolates. Forty-three isolates (15%) were identified as belonging to this clone: 15 were invasive isolates, 33 were serotype III (77%), and 10 were of serotypes other than type III (23%).

Serotypes of 286 group B streptococci isolated from asymptomatic carriers and invasive disease cases in Mexico.

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains as a leading cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis in developed countries, where type III is the most common serotype. Although GBS is considered an uncommon cause of perinatal pathology in Mexico, a vaginal colonization rate of 14% in pregnant women and a neonatal infection rate of 1/1500 live births have been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the serotype distribution in a collection of 286 GBS strains isolated in Mexico from asymptomatic carriers and in adult and neonatal invasive disease cases.

Clonal and horizontal dissemination of Klebsiella pneumoniae expressing SHV-5 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase in a Mexican pediatric hospital.

One hundred eighty-four clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were recovered from August 1996 to October 1997 at the Pediatric Hospital of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico City, Mexico. Most of the isolates were collected from the neonatal intensive care unit and infant wards, which are located on the same floor of the hospital. Isolates were genotypically compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with XbaI restriction of chromosomal DNA.

Identification of the high-virulence clone of group B streptococci by using a probe containing a putative aldolase gene.

A high-virulence clone (HVC) was proposed as causing much of the morbidity and mortality when a collection of group B Streptococcus (GBS) isolates was examined by multi-locus enzyme electrophoresis. HVC isolates could be further distinguished by their inability to grow at 40 degrees C, and a temperature-sensitive aldolase was identified as responsible for this characteristic. In the present study, the HVC was sought in a collection of 57 GBS isolates by hybridization with a probe containing a putative aldolase gene on genomic DNA restriction enzyme digests.

Response to two consecutive protease inhibitor combination therapy regimens in a cohort of HIV-1-infected children.

The response to 2 consecutive protease inhibitor (P1) combination regimens was evaluated in a cohort of HIV-1-infected children. Twelve children, most of whom had been heavily treated, received a 3-drug treatment: saquinavir in hard gelatin capsules (SQVhgc) + zidovudine (ZDV) + didanosine. When this treatment failed it was replaced by a 4-drug regimen: ritonavir + SQVhgc + ZDV + lamivudine.

Molecular epidemiology of a multiresistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa outbreak in a paediatric intensive care unit.

After isolation of multiresistant (MR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa from 3 hospitalized patients in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), a prospective surveillance programme was established to detect infected and/or colonized patients in the hospital. Isolates were examined by means of outer membrane protein (OMP) profiles, serotyping and DNA genomic analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Fifty-five P.

Outbreak of infection with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Mexican hospital.

Thirty-one strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae (including 10 duplicates) from 21 septicemic pediatric patients (age, <2 months) were studied during a 4-month period (June to October 1996) in which the fatality rate was 62% (13 of 21). These isolates identified by the API 20E system yielded the same biotype. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis experiments revealed the same clone in 31 strains.

Antimicrobial resistance from enterococci in a pediatric hospital. Plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis isolates with high-level gentamicin and streptomycin resistance.

Background: Enterococcus spp. is an important nosocomial and community-acquired pathogen. Recent studies have documented the increasing importance of this pathogen in children, particularly in the hospital setting.

Serologic evidences suggesting the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in Mexico.

Background: Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne human disease in Europe and the United States. In Mexico, clinical cases suggestive of Lyme borreliosis have been reported; however, infection was not confirmed by serologic or microbiologic tests.

Methods: To study the prevalence of IgG antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi among Mexican persons, a community-based sero-survey including all states of Mexico was done.

Identification of the high-virulence clone of group B streptococci in Mexican isolates by growth characteristics at 40 degrees C.

Group B streptococci (GBS) colonizing the vagina and rectum of pregnant women cause invasive disease of the offspring in a small number of cases. The immune status of the host and differences in virulence among strains appear to be the main determinants for neonatal infection. A high-virulence clone (HVC) was proposed to cause much of the morbidity and mortality when a collection of GBS isolates was examined by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis.

Decreased capacity for type-specific-antigen synthesis accounts for high prevalence of nontypeable strains of group B streptococci in Mexico.

The low incidence of group B streptococcal (GBS) invasive neonatal disease in Mexico has been attributed to the low prevalence of serotype III strains, a major serotype in developed countries. In addition, nontypeable strains account for 12% of the isolates in Mexico and < 1% of the isolates in the United States. In this study, 57 GBS isolates (28 nontypeable by the Lancefield procedure) from carrier and infected neonates and women from Mexico were also examined for the presence of type-specific antigen by an enzymatic procedure using N-acetylmuramidase digestion of the cell wall to release soluble type-specific antigen.

[The Canadian health system and its financing].

This work stems from a brief visit in 1993 to the Canadian health services as part of the PAHO International Health Training Program and the subsequent research, discussion, and analysis relating to that experience. By no means is this paper an exhaustive account of the system, but rather a close look at one of its aspects: financing. The main objective is to identify some of the virtues and limitations of a health system that is considered one of the most efficient, effective, and equitable in the world.

Comparison of the response to the recombinant vaccine against hepatitis B virus in dialyzed and nondialyzed children with CRF using different doses and routes of administration.

In patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), parenteral transmission of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is common. The response to the recombinant vaccine is 50%-80% of seroprotection. Therefore, to improve seroprotection, different strategies such as dose augmentation, vaccination at the predialysis stage, subcutaneous application, and using interleukin were tried, with unsatisfactory results.

Use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing to study an outbreak of infection due to Serratia marcescens in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Serratia marcescens is a well-known cause of nosocomial infections and outbreaks, particularly in critically ill neonates and immunocompromised patients. Numerous methods have been proposed for typing. We used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing to analyze an outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

[Resistance of enterobacteria and Pseudomonas to old and new antimicrobial agents].

Antibiotic sensitivity to eight common use antibiotics for 9,538 enterobacteria and Pseudomonas strains isolated from hospitalized children was studied using the serial dilution plate technique. Minimum inhibitory concentration to seven new antibiotics for 310 strains was also determined. Enterobacteria showed high resistance (50-80%) to ampicillin, carbenicillin, sulbenicillin, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole; resistance to piperacillin, gentamicin, tobramycin, and netilmicin was moderate (15-45%), and resistance to amikacin, cefotaxime, moxalactam and aztreonam was low (2-10%).