Luxación simultánea de las articulaciones interfalángica y metacarpofalángica del pulgar

La luxación volar de la articulación metacarpofalángica del pulgar es una lesión muy rara; sólo 3 casos de luxación simultánea de las articulaciones metacarpofalángica e interfalángica del pulgar han sido publicados. Presentamos un caso de luxación combinada de las dos articulaciones del pulgar en el que se realizó un tratamiento ortopédico, con resultado satisfactorio.Thumb metacarpo-phalangeal joint palmar dislocation are a very rare injuries. Only 3 reports of intherphalangeal and metacarpo-phalangeal joints dislocations in the same thumb have been Publisher. The following is a case report of simultaneous dislocation of the MCP and IF joints in a thumb treated with a closed reduction

Mental disorders in primary health care: a study of their frequency and diagnosis in four developing countries

1624 patients who were attending primary health facilities in 4 developing countries were examined to determine how many were suffering from mental disorder. Using stringent criteria to establish the presence of psychiatric morbidity, 225 cases were found, indicating an overall frequency of 13·9 %. The great majority of cases were suffering from neurotic illnesses and for most the presenting complaint was of a physical symptom, such as headache, abdominal pain, cough or weakness. The health workers following their normal procedure correctly detected one third of the psychiatric case

Phosphoglycerate mutase, 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase, creatine kinase and enolase activity and isoenzymes in breast carcinoma

We have compared the levels of phosphoglycerate mutase (EC 5.4.2.1), 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.13), creatine kinase (EC 2.7.3.2) and enolase (EC 4.2.1.11) activities and the distribution of their isoenzymes in normal breast tissue and in breast carcinoma. Tumour tissue had higher phosphoglycerate mutase and enolase activity than normal tissue. Creatine kinase activity was higher in seven out of 12 tumours. In contrast 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase activity was lower. Phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase presented greater changes in the oestrogen receptor-negative/progesterone receptor-negative breast carcinomas than in the steroid receptor-positive tumours. Determined by electrophoresis, type BB phosphoglycerate mutase, type BB creatine kinase and αα-enolase were the major isoenzymes detected in normal breast tissue. Types αγ and γγ enolase, types MB and MM phosphoglycerate mutase were detected in much lower proportions. In tumours a decrease of phosphoglycerate mutase isoenzymes possessing M-type subunit and some increase of enolase isoenzymes possessing γ-type subunit was observed. No detectable change was observed in the creatine kinase phenotype. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Optical properties and refractive index sensitivity of reactive sputtered oxide coatings with embedded Au clusters

The following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 115.6 (2014): 063512 and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/115/6/10.1063/1.4861136In the present study, nanocomposite coatings of Au clusters embedded in two different oxides, TiO2 and Al2O3, were synthesized using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. The depositions were carried out in three steps, by depositing the oxide, the Au clusters, and again the oxide. The deposition time of the Au clusters was varied in order to achieve different cluster sizes, morphologies, and nanocomposite topographies. The structure, microstructure, morphology, and the optical properties of the coatings were studied. With the increase in Au content, red-shifted surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks with higher intensity and increased widths were observed due to changes in the metal clusters sizes and morphology and due to interparticle effects. In order to relate the peculiar SPR extinction bands with the different clusters shapes and distributions, a simulation of the optical properties of the nanocomposites was performed making use of the Renormalized Maxwell-Garnett approach. A theoretical study concerning the refractive index sensitivity was made in order to predict the optimal coatings parameters for sensing experiments. The increased surface area and the strong SPR extinction bands make these coatings suitable for gas sensing and also catalysis, albeit many other application fields can be envisaged.This research was sponsored by FEDER funds through the program COMPETE, Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade, by national funds through FCT, Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, under the Projects PEst-C/EME/UI0285/2013 and CENTRO-07-0224-FEDER-002001 (Mais Centro SCT_2011_02_001_4637), and through the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation by Projects FUNCOAT CSD2008-00023 and AIB2010PT-00241. R.E.G. wishes also to thank the MCINN for the financial support within the Ramón y Cajal programme. Funding by the European Community through Project Nano4Color is gratefully acknowledged

Lactate levels in severe malarial anaemia are associated with haemozoin-containing neutrophils and low levels of IL-12

BACKGROUND: Hyperlactataemia is often associated with a poor outcome in severe malaria in African children. To unravel the complex pathophysiology of this condition the relationship between plasma lactate levels, parasite density, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and haemozoin-containing leucocytes was studied in children with severe falciparum malarial anaemia. METHODS: Twenty-six children with a primary diagnosis of severe malarial anaemia with any asexual Plasmodium falciparum parasite density and Hb < 5 g/dL were studied and the association of plasma lactate levels and haemozoin-containing leucocytes, parasite density, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines was measured. The same associations were measured in non-severe malaria controls (N = 60). RESULTS: Parasite density was associated with lactate levels on admission (r = 0.56, P < 0.005). Moreover, haemozoin-containing neutrophils and IL-12 were strongly associated with plasma lactate levels, independently of parasite density (r = 0.60, P = 0.003 and r = -0.46, P = 0.02, respectively). These associations were not found in controls with uncomplicated malarial anaemia. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that blood stage parasites, haemozoin and low levels of IL-12 may be associated with the development of hyperlactataemia in severe malarial anaemia

Early Detection of Corrosion-Induced Concrete Micro-cracking by Using Nonlinear Ultrasonic Techniques: Possible Influence of Mass Transport Processes

This work presents results allowing an unequivocal correlation of the observations of strong nonlinear elastic features of ultrasonic waves (values of the nonlinearity parameters exceeding the thresholds corresponding to undamaged states), with the critical events of the corrosion-induced surface cracking of reinforced cement-mortar specimens. These observations point to the possibility of the early detection of cracking using nonlinear ultrasonic (NLU) techniques. Experimental evidence is presented on the existence of active net mass transport processes, due to wick action, in the course of the corrosion tests, in the experimental conditions of this work. These phenomena might explain the observed abrupt shifting of the nonlinear parameter values (typically increasing and then decreasing post-peak, even reaching values typical of the undamaged state), and, partially, the high variability obtained for the values of the nonlinear parameters in damaged (cracked) states. Finally, some consequences are derived from the point of view of use of the NLU techniques in engineering practice, i.e., in surveys aimed at evaluating reinforced concrete structures affected by corrosion.This research was funded by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (grant code BIA2016-80982-R) and by the European Regional Development Fund (grant code BIA2016-80982-R). M.M. acknowledges a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (FPU16/04078)