Tectonic implications of paleontologic dating of Cretaceous-Danian sections of Eastern Cuba

The sedimentary rocks intercalated in volcanic and metavolcanic sections of Mayarí-Baracoa and Sierra del Purial Mountains (Eastern Cuba), yielded Cretaceous through Danian microfossils. In the Mayarí Mountains the Téneme Fm consists of basalts and hyaloclastites with minor intercalations of well-bedded foliated limestone and shaly limestone that in the type area contain a Turonian or early Coniacian planktonic foraminifera assemblage. In the Morel area (Moa-Baracoa massif), back-arc pillow basalts with ribbon cherts include a late Turonian or Coniacian limestone bed intercalated with interbedded organic-rich calcareous shales near the top. The upper part of the Coniacian (?)-Campanian Santo Domingo Fm crops out west of Moa and it consists of finegrained well-bedded volcaniclastic rocks with two intercalated lenses of coarse-grained impure biocalcirudites to biocalcarenites. These rocks yielded a mixed penecontemporaneous planktonic and benthonic microfossil assemblage attributed to the lower part of the late Campanian (Globotruncanita calcarata Zone). At Sierra del Purial, crystalline limestones embedded within the metavulcano-sedimentary Río Baracoa section (Purial metamorphic complex) yielded Campanian microfossils. The Maastrichtian Yaguaneque (=Cañas) limestones crop out extensively in both Mayarí-Baracoa and Purial Mountains. All the formations previously mentioned unconformably overlie and tectonically intermingle with the late Maastrichtian-early Danian clastic rocks of the Mícara and La Picota Fms. Our new dates demonstrate that in the Greater Antilles the PIA (Primitive Island Arc-tholeiite) recorded by the Téneme Fm would be Late Cretaceous in age in opposition to the Lower Cretaceous age proposed for the PIA basalts. The protolith of the Purial metamorphic complex is probably Maastrichtian-early Danian, but certainly Campanian and older in age. This fact suggests that the metamorphism that affected the Purial rocks took place probably in the late Maastrichtian and was coeval with the detachment, exhumation and emplacement of mafic-ultramafic thrust-sheet bodies. This event recorded in Eastern Cuba/Western Hispaniola and Guatemala might have been related to the insertion of thick oceanic ridges into the subduction zone

Diagnóstico ecográfico en un caso clínico de quiste paraprostático canino

El artículo describe el diagnóstico ecográfico de un caso clínico de quiste paraprostático en un perro, discutiendo la importancia de la imagen en el diagnóstico de afecciones prostáticas y mostrando imágenes radiológicas y ecográficas.This paper describes the ultrasonographic diagnosis in a case of paraprostatic cyst in a dog. Importance of imaging diagnostic methods in prostatic diseases are discussed. Radiologic and ultrasound images are shown

Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension: Trend from population-based surveys conducted in a low-middle income country

Aim: To estimate and determine temporal trends for awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in adults from the urban area in Colombia. Methods: We conducted two population-based surveys (years 2010 and 2015) in the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga-Santander, Colombia, using the WHO STEPwise approach. Participants were asked to provide demographic, socioeconomic and cardiovascular risk factors data. Blood pressure (BP) was measured twice using an automated device. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP≥140 mmHg, a diastolic BP≥90 mmHg or self-reported antihypertensive treatment. We estimated age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES) adjusted prevalence ratios (PR), with 2010 as the reference survey, using poisson regression and correcting standard errors by clustering. Results: We evaluated 1,136 (mean age: 35.7 years; 43% male) and 872 (mean age:37.7 years; 41% male) adults from the 2010 and 2015 surveys, respectively. There were a larger proportion of individuals sampled from low SES in the 2015 as compared to the 2010 survey (93.6% vs. 70.9%). Overall, prevalence of hypertension was 16.4% (95%CI: 14.8 – 17.9): It increased significantly with age (from 2.4% among individuals 15-19 years old to 41.1% among individuals 50 years and older; p-trend<0.001) but did not differed by sex (17.8% in men vs. 15.4% in women) or year (16.1% vs. 16.6% in 2010 and 2015, respectively). Overall, prevalence of awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were 65.0%, 84.1%, and 62.2%, respectively. Although awareness and control increased from 2010 to 2015 (PR=1.05 and PR=1.12, respectively), only the prevalence of treatment showed a statistically significant increment of 11% (PR=1.11; 95%IC: 1.01 – 1.24). Implication: The STEPwise is a suitable surveillance strategy to estimate the burden of cardiovascular risk factors in low-middle income countries. Our results are consistent with national data from urban areas and show for the first time a short-time improvement in antihypertensive coverage

Prolapso de la glándula lacrimal del tercer párpado

El prolapso de la glándula lacrimal del tercer párpado es relativamente frecuente en oftalmología canina. La exéresis glandular es una técnica sencilla, aunque puede presentar complicaciones a largo plazo. La adenopexia debería ser la primera elección quirúrgica, su resultado depende de una adecuada exposición de la esclerótica, del tamaño de la glándula y de la calidad del material de sutura empleado.Protrusion of the membrane nictitans gland is a common occurrence in veterinary ophthalmology. Although excision of the gland is an easy technique, it can develop serious further complications. Adenopexia should be the first surgical election, iss success depends on the clear sclera exposure, the gland size and the quality of the suture material employed

Simple low-cost construction and calibration of accurate pneumotachographs for monitoring mechanical ventilation in low-resource settings

Assessing tidal volume during mechanical ventilation is critical to improving gas exchange while avoiding ventilator-induced lung injury. Conventional flow and volume measurements are usually carried out by built-in pneumotachographs in the ventilator or by stand-alone flowmeters. Such flow/volume measurement devices are expensive and thus usually unaffordable in low-resource settings. Here, we aimed to design and test low-cost and technically-simple calibration and assembly pneumotachographs. The proposed pneumotachographs are made by manual perforation of a plate with a domestic drill. Their pressure-volume relationship is characterized by a quadratic equation with parameters that can be tailored by the number and diameter of the perforations. We show that the calibration parameters of the pneumotachographs can be measured through two maneuvers with a conventional resuscitation bag and by assessing the maneuver volumes with a cheap and straightforward water displacement setting. We assessed the performance of the simplified low-cost pneumotachographs to measure flow/volume during mechanical ventilation as carried out under typical conditions in low-resource settings, i.e., lacking gold standard expensive devices. Under realistic mechanical ventilation settings (pressure- and volume-control; 200-600 mL), inspiratory tidal volume was accurately measured (errors of 2.1% on average and <4% in the worst case). In conclusion, a simple, low-cost procedure facilitates the construction of affordable and accurate pneumotachographs for monitoring mechanical ventilation in low- and middle-income countries

Supporting Diversity in Science through Social Networking

In this Community Page, we learn how a scientific community leverages social networking tools to connect a group of dispersed scientific researchers in Ciencia Puerto Rico; this effort fosters innovative research and educational collaborations and changes the way scientists interact with the public

Behaviour of Non-O157 STEC and Atypical EPEC during the Manufacturing and Ripening of Raw Milk Cheese

12 p.This study was carried out to assess the survival of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) during the traditional manufacturing and ripening of Spanish hard cheese from raw cow’s milk. Milk samples were spiked with up to 3.1–3.5 log cfu/mL of one strain of STEC (O140:H32 serotype) and one of aEPEC (serotype O25:H2). The first steps of cheesemaking allow for a STEC and aEPEC increase of more than 1 log cfu/mL (up to 4.74 log cfu/g and 4.55 log cfu/g, respectively). After cheese pressing, a steady reduction of both populations was observed, with the STEC strain being more sensitive. The studied pathogenic E. coli populations decreased by 1.32 log cfu/g in STEC and 0.59 log cfu/g in aEPEC in cheese ripened during a minimum period of 60 d. Therefore, a moderate contamination by these diarrhoeagenic E. coli pathotypes, in particular, with aEPEC, on cheese manufactured from raw milk may not be totally controlled through the cheesemaking process and during a maturation of 90 d. These findings remark the importance of improvement in bacteriological quality of raw milk and crosscontamination prevention with diarrhoeagenic E. coli in the dairy industryS

Novel Polymeric Formulation for Removal of Gastrointestinal Polyps by Digestive Endoscopy

Álvaro Gimeno Sandig from Animal House Bellvitge University of Barcelona is acknowledged for his technical support.Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) are two techniques used in the resection of gastrointestinal mucosal polyps. The aim of this work is the development and evaluation of an innovative polymeric solution containing sodium carboxymethylcellulose and hyaluronic acid. For this purpose, several mixtures of these two main components, as well as other components such as fructose, citric acid, and zinc, are evaluated in terms of physicochemical and microbiological properties, rheological behavior, extensibility, syringeability, and stability at different storage conditions. Furthermore, the potential production of mucosal elevation and duration is also studied by an ex vivo model using porcine stomach and colon. Results show that the developed polymeric solutions possess optimal values of pH, from 4.58 to 6.63, for their use in the gastrointestinal tract. The formulations exhibit both Newtonian and pseudoplastic behaviors with different viscosity values as a function of their composition. All formulations exhibit high stability properties and no bacterial or fungal growth is detected. MCS01 and MCS05 are the polymeric solutions with the best syringeability results. In this line, MCS05 is the formulation that provides the highest, 2.20 ± 0.18 cm and 1.40 ± 0.11 cm, and longest-lasting, for more than 120 min, elevation effect on porcine submucosal stomach and colon tissues, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that polymeric solution MCS05 might be considered as a promising tool for use in human EMR and ESD.This research was funded by the local Regional Government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía), grant number PIN-0479-2016

Intravitreal implants manufactured by supercritical foaming for treating retinal diseases

Chronic retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are a major cause of global visual impairment. However, current treatment methods involving repetitive intravitreal injections pose financial and health burdens for patients. The development of controlled drug release systems, particularly for biological drugs, is still an unmet need in prolonging drug release within the vitreous chamber. To address this, green supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) foaming technology was employed to manufacture porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-based intravitreal implants loaded with dexamethasone. The desired implant dimensions were achieved through 3D printing of customised moulds. By varying the depressurisation rates during the foaming process, implants with different porosities and dexamethasone release rates were successfully obtained. These implants demonstrated controlled drug release for up to four months, surpassing the performance of previously developed implants. In view of the positive results obtained, a pilot study was conducted using the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab to explore the feasibility of this technology for preparing intraocular implants loaded with biologic drug molecules. Overall, this study presents a greener and more sustainable alternative to conventional implant manufacturing techniques, particularly suited for drugs that are susceptible to degradation under harsh conditions

Low-cost, easy-to-build noninvasive pressure support ventilator for under-resourced regions: open source hardware description, performance and feasibility testing

Aim: Current pricing of commercial mechanical ventilators in low-/middle-income countries (LMICs) markedly restricts their availability, and consequently a considerable number of patients with acute/chronic respiratory failure cannot be adequately treated. Our aim was to design and test an affordable and easy-to- build noninvasive bilevel pressure ventilator to allow a reduction in the serious shortage of ventilators in LMICs. Methods: The ventilator was built using off-the-shelf materials available via e-commerce and was based on a high-pressure blower, two pressure transducers and an Arduino Nano controller with a digital display (total retail cost <75 USD), with construction details provided open source for free replication. The ventilator was evaluated, and compared with a commercially available device (Lumis 150 ventilator; Resmed, San Diego, CA, USA): 1) in the bench setting using an actively breathing patient simulator mimicking a range of obstructive/restrictive diseases; and b) in 12 healthy volunteers wearing high airway resistance and thoracic/abdominal bands to mimic obstructive/restrictive patients. Results: The designed ventilator provided inspiratory/expiratory pressures up to 20/10cmH2O, respectively, with no faulty triggering or cycling; both in the bench test and in volunteers. The breathing difficulty score rated (1-10 scale) by the loaded breathing subjects was significantly (p<0.005) decreased from 5.45±1.68 without support to 2.83±1.66 when using the prototype ventilator, which showed no difference with the commercial device (2.80±1.48; p=1.000). Conclusion: The low-cost, easy-to-build noninvasive ventilator performs similarly to a high-quality commercial device, with its open-source hardware description, which will allow for free replication and use in LMICs, facilitating application of this life-saving therapy to patients who otherwise could not be treated