Back Home: Strategies for the Reintroduction of Chelonoidis chilensis Into the Wild

The Argentinian Tortoise (Chelonoidis chilensis) is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature; nevertheless, they are illegally traded as pets in Argentina. Many tortoise owners who kept them as pets gave their tortoises to Protectora Rosario, which sent them to a Wildlife Rescue Center in Santa Fe, Argentina. Our goals were to clinically and behaviorally evaluate these tortoises to analyze the feasibility of their release; determine the genetic population of origin of each specimen by identifying its mitochondrial haplotype; and generate educational actions to prevent the commercialization of this species. The genetic analysis identified six haplotypes, four corresponded to the Dry Chaco region, one with the Monte region, and two were new haplotypes for the species. Clinical and behavioral evaluations after a quarantine process showed that the tortoises were suitable to be reintroduced into the wild because they were disease-free, they showed a correct usage of their microhabitat, reacted to environmental stimuli, and had independence from humans for their food. Monitoring showed that the reintroduction of the tortoises was successful: we relocated 23 of the 28 released tortoises during the 6 mo after their release and none showed signs of disease or damage. We suggest that the evaluation methods and genetic analysis we applied in this study can be used as a baseline for the establishment of standardized protocols to apply in reintroduction programs for other tortoises.Fil: Amavet, Patricia Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales. Laboratorio de Zoología Aplicada: Anexo Vertebrados (FHUC-UNL/MASPyMA); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Sciabarrasi Bagilet, Antonio Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Ministerio de Ambiente.; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, Julieta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambientales y Recursos Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Bersezio, Natalia Soledad. Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Ministerio de Ambiente.; ArgentinaFil: Castiglioni, Mariela. Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Ministerio de Ambiente.; ArgentinaFil: Siroski, Pablo Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales. Laboratorio de Zoología Aplicada: Anexo Vertebrados (FHUC-UNL/MASPyMA); Argentin

Neuroblastoma en niños menores de 18 meses. Experiencia de 10 años en el Centro Hematooncológico Pediátrico del Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell

ResumenIntroducciónEl neuroblastoma es el tumor maligno más frecuente en los lactantes. Su curso clínico es variable, desde la regresión espontánea a la progresión maligna, y los factores pronósticos son múltiples, como la edad, el estadio, la amplificación de N-myc y la ploidía tumoral. Se describen las características de todos los pacientes con neuroblastoma menores de 18 meses asistidos en CHOP.Pacientes y métodosEstudio observacional, descriptivo y retrospectivo en el período entre el 31 de enero de 2000 y el 31 de enero de 2011. El diagnóstico se realizó por histología y aspirado de médula ósea. Los pacientes se estadificaron por INSS; el tratamiento se decidió según el estadio y el riesgo.ResultadosSe incluyeron 22 pacientes menores de 18 meses (52% de todos los neuroblastomas), con una media de edad de 9,6 meses. Once pacientes se encontraban en estadio 4. La localización más frecuente fue suprarrenal; presentaban metástasis 13 pacientes. Quince niños recibieron poliquimioterapia y 20 fueron tratados quirúrgicamente. La amplificación del gen N-myc se demostró en 3 pacientes. La sobrevida global fue del 77% y la sobrevida libre de enfermedad fue del 77%.Discusión y conclusionesLa mayor parte de los casos fueron diagnosticados en niños menores de 9 meses. Fueron más frecuentes los estadios 4 y 1. No se pudo demostrar asociación entre N-myc y el estadio de enfermedad. La sobrevida fue excelente.AbstractIntroductionNeuroblastoma is the most common malignant tumor in infants. Its clinical behavior is variable, from spontaneous regression to malignant progression; prognostic factors are multiple, such as age, stage, N-myc amplification and tumor ploidy. We describe the characteristic of all patients with neuroblastoma less than 18 months of age assisted in CHOP.Patients and methodsRetrospective, observational and descriptive study in the period between 31/1/00 y 31/01/11. Diagnose was made from histology and bone marrow aspirate. Patients were classified by INSS stage; treatment was decided according to stage and risk.ResultsTwenty two patients were included (52% of allneuroblastomas), with a mean age of 9,6 months.Eleven patients were classified in stage 4. The most frequent localization was adrenal; 14 patientspresented methastasis. Fifteen patients received chemotherapy and 20 were surgically intervened. N-myc amplification was detected in 3 patients. Overall survival was 77% and event-free survival was 77%.Discussion and conclusionsThe majority of cases were diagnosed in children younger than 9 months.Stages 4 and 1 were the most frequent. No association between N-myc and stage could be determined.Overall and event-free survival were excellent

Early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care in Latin America

Although previous studies have suggested that the complications and mortality rate related to COVID-19 are substantially lower in the paediatric population,1 it is reasonable to consider that children with underlying conditions such as cancer will be at increased risk of severe disease...Fil: Vasquez, Liliana. Universidad de San Martín de Porres; Perú. Organización Panamericana de la Salud; PerúFil: Sampor, Claudia. Fundacion Hospital de Pediatria Professor Dr. Juan P. Garrahan; ArgentinaFil: Villanueva, Gabriela. Fundacion Hospital de Pediatria Professor Dr. Juan P. Garrahan; ArgentinaFil: Maradiegue, Essy. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas; PerúFil: Garcia Lombardi, Mercedes. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Gomez García, Wendy. Hospital Infantil Dr. Robert Reid Cabral; República DominicanaFil: Moreno, Florencia. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer; ArgentinaFil: Diaz, Rosdali. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas; PerúFil: Cappellano, Andrea M.. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Portilla, Carlos Andres. Universidad del Valle; ColombiaFil: Salas, Beatriz. Hospital del Niño Manuel Ascencio Villarroel; BoliviaFil: Nava, Evelinda. Hospital de Niños Jesus Garcia Coello; VenezuelaFil: Brizuela, Silvia. Instituto de Previsión Social ; ParaguayFil: Jimenez, Soledad. Hospital Solca Núcleo de Loja; EcuadorFil: Espinoza, Ximena. Hospital de Niños Dr. Roberto del Río; ChileFil: Gassant, Pascale Yola. Hôpital Saint-Damien; HaitíFil: Quintero, Karina. Children's Hospital Dr Jose Renan Esquivel; PanamáFil: Fuentes Alabi, Soad. Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamin Bloom; El SalvadorFil: Velasquez, Thelma. No especifíca;Fil: Fu, Ligia. Hospital Escuela de Tegucigalpa; HondurasFil: Gamboa, Yessika. National Children's Hospital; Costa RicaFil: Quintana, Juan. Clinica Las Condes; ChileFil: Castiglioni, Mariela. Hospital Pereira Rossell; UruguayFil: Nuñez, Cesar. Children's Cancer Hospital; Estados UnidosFil: Moreno, Arturo. Hospital Universitario de Puebla; MéxicoFil: Luna Fineman, Sandra. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados UnidosFil: Luciani, Silvana. Pan American Health Organization; Estados UnidosFil: Chantada, Guillermo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentina. Hospital Sant Joan de Deu Barcelona; Españ

Back Home: Strategies for the Reintroduction of Chelonoidis chilensis Into the Wild

The Argentinian Tortoise (Chelonoidis chilensis) is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature; nevertheless, they are illegally traded as pets in Argentina. Many tortoise owners who kept them as pets gave their tortoises to Protectora Rosario, which sent them to a Wildlife Rescue Center in Santa Fe, Argentina. Our goals were to clinically and behaviorally evaluate these tortoises to analyze the feasibility of their release; determine the genetic population of origin of each specimen by identifying its mitochondrial haplotype; and generate educational actions to prevent the commercialization of this species. The genetic analysis identified six haplotypes, four corresponded to the Dry Chaco region, one with the Monte region, and two were new haplotypes for the species. Clinical and behavioral evaluations after a quarantine process showed that the tortoises were suitable to be reintroduced into the wild because they were disease-free, they showed a correct usage of their microhabitat, reacted to environmental stimuli, and had independence from humans for their food. Monitoring showed that the reintroduction of the tortoises was successful: we relocated 23 of the 28 released tortoises during the 6 mo after their release and none showed signs of disease or damage. We suggest that the evaluation methods and genetic analysis we applied in this study can be used as a baseline for the establishment of standardized protocols to apply in reintroduction programs for other tortoises.Fil: Amavet, Patricia Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales. Laboratorio de Zoología Aplicada: Anexo Vertebrados (FHUC-UNL/MASPyMA); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Sciabarrasi Bagilet, Antonio Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Ministerio de Ambiente.; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, Julieta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambientales y Recursos Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Bersezio, Natalia Soledad. Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Ministerio de Ambiente.; ArgentinaFil: Castiglioni, Mariela. Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Ministerio de Ambiente.; ArgentinaFil: Siroski, Pablo Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales. Laboratorio de Zoología Aplicada: Anexo Vertebrados (FHUC-UNL/MASPyMA); Argentin

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)