Models of Hepatotoxicity for the Study of Chronic Liver Disease

Chronic liver disease affects globally and has a high morbidity and mortality rate. It is histopathologically characterized by the presence of inflammation, and the progressive destruction and regeneration of the hepatic parenchyma, which can lead to the development of fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Most liver diseases tend to become chronic and can be therefore studied in animal models, as it is possible to quickly develop pathological processes in animals with a high degree of reproducibility and obtain predictive data regarding the different hepatopathies. The development of animal models in the field of hepatology has been geared toward the search for new knowledge meant to favor human well-being and proved useful in translational medicine focused on liver disease. Like any other methodological tool, animal models provide valuable. Obviously, a single model cannot reproduce the complexity and spectrum of all liver diseases, which is why a wide variety are currently employed: they include chemically, immune, diet, surgically, and genetically modified damage in animals and involve biological agents or the use of humanized livers in rodents. This chapter surveys some of the main animal models used in the study of chronic liver disease and the disease characteristics they mimic

Potential Harm of Maltodextrin‐Coated Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dots in Embryos and Fetuses

Over the past years, there has been significant interest in the study of nanoparticles for clinical applications, particularly quantum dots (QDs). However, previous studies have also shown that QDs can reach the embryo through the placenta, a natural barrier for a large variety of organic substances with diverse molecular structures, and may cause developmental deformities. Due to its essential role in a toxicological profile and its relevance to human safety, knowledge regarding embryotoxicity is of great importance. Previous studies by this research group have shown that CdS‐maltodextrin QDs are biocompatible and nontoxic to cells and animals; however, QDs are able to induce embryotoxic effects. Therefore, as an effort to further address the issue, we studied the effects of CdS‐maltodextrin QDs on embryo and fetus development using an embryotoxicity and teratogenicity assay on chicken embryos. Chicken embryos exposed to CdS‐maltodextrin QDs (0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 µg/kg) in ovo for 72 h showed growth and developmental alterations during the early stage and at the end of their development in a dose‐dependent manner. Decreased development was observed during early stages (Stages 9/10 on the Hamburger‐Hamilton scale) when compared with untreated eggs (Stage 13). Chicken embryos exposed to lower CdS‐maltodextrin QDs doses (0.01, 0.1 and 1 ng/kg) and incubated in ovo for 21 h also showed growth and development alterations during the early stages and at the end of their development in a dose‐dependent manner. However, reduced development was observed at the end of the development period (21 days), and this was associated with death of the chick. Current studies have also shown that CdS‐dextrin induces embryotoxicity and teratogenicity, affecting mainly the CNS, the neural tube and somites in chicken embryos. The nature of the observed abnormalities suggests that these effects could be directly associated with nanoparticle concentrations affecting somitogenesis. Therefore, according to the results, there is a high probability that the prolonged accumulation of QDs in the maternal organism may be potentially harmful on embryo and fetus development. This study is limited to the analysis of embryotoxic and teratogenic effects induced by CdS‐maltodextrin QDs

Influence of Cardiorespiratory Clinical Placements on the Specialty Interest of Physiotherapy Students

Clinical placements are an important part of health students’ training. Whilst much value is placed on the clinical environment as a place to learn, there is a paucity of direct evidence about its effectiveness. The aim of this study was to compare the competence, importance, and interest in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy of students before and after one month of clinical practice. A preand post-placement questionnaire about students’ interest in different physiotherapy subspecialties was used. The students with a cardiorespiratory clinical placement showed a significant change in their perception about the importance of the cardiorespiratory specialty (0.348 1.01; p < 0.001), while no significant change was observed in the students without cardiorespiratory placement (-0.014 0.825; p = 0.883). The presence or absence of clinical placements seems to have a definitive impact on students’ choice of a specialty. This implies the need for developing a set of clinical placements in all the subareas of physiotherapy in order to give undergraduate students the opportunity to make a better decision

Impact of Previous Physical Activity Levels on Symptomatology, Functionality, and Strength during an Acute Exacerbation in COPD Patients

The main objective of this study is to determine the relationship between physical activity (PA) level prior to hospitalization and the pulmonary symptomatology, functionality, exercise capacity, and strength of acute exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. In this observational study, all data were taken during the patient’s first day in hospital. Patients were divided into two groups (a PA group, and a physical inactivity (PI) group), according to the PA level evaluated by the Baecke questionnaire. Cough status was evaluated by the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), and dyspnea was assessed using the modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (mMRC). Functionality was measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the London Chest Activity of Daily Living scale (LCADL). Exercise capacity was evaluated by the two-minute step-in-place (2MSP) test, and strength assessed by dynamometry. A total of 151 patients were included in this observational study. Patients in the PI group obtained worse results compared to the PA group, and significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in all of the variables. Those COPD patients who regularly perform PA have less dyspnea and cough, as well as better functionality, exercise capacity and strength during an exacerbation, without relationship to the severity of the pathology.The author JRT has received financial support through a FPU (“Formación Profesorado Universitario”) grant (FPU:16/01531) of the Spanish Ministry of Education. The author LLL has received financial support through a FPU grant (FPU: 17/00408) of the Spanish Ministry of Education (Spain)

Potentialities of Wheat-Associated Bacterial Diversity as Growth Promoter of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Context: Some microorganisms stimulate plant growth. Accordingly, this study focused on wheat-associated bacterial diversity to select promising strains for farming. Aim: To select promising strains that stimulate wheat growth, with a wheat-associated bacterial diversity. Methods: The bacteria from the rhizosphere and interior of wheat plants were isolated (cultivars Cuba C 204 and I 399). Its nitrogen fixing potential was characterized in vitro, along with the microorganisms’ capacity to solubilize nutrients and antagonistic activity against Fusarium sp and Curvularia lunata. The strains were introduced in wheat seeds under semi-controlled conditions, and their effect on growth indicators were evaluated. Results: Several microorganisms were isolated, such as four strains classified as Bacillus, four Azotobacter, and two of them as Azospirillum, depending on their morphology. All the microorganisms were capable of fixing the nitrogen from the atmosphere. Except for one strain, they solubilized nutrients, and showed antagonistic activity against F. graminearum, F. chlamydosporum, F. oxysporum, and C. lunata. Its inoculation in wheat demonstrated the feasibility of using bacterial diversity associated with the plant species to stimulate 21-day-old plantlet growth from cultivars Cuba C 204 and I 399. Conclusions: There is a microbial diversity associated with the wheat plants with a potential to stimulate in vitro and in vivo growth. Some of these microorganisms have promising features to obtain a new product for cropping, which can increase yields in the Cuban conditions

Potencialidades de la diversidad bacteriana asociada al trigo (Triticum aestivum L.) para estimular su crecimiento

Contexto: Algunos microorganismos estimulan el crecimiento de las plantas, por lo que en la investigación se trabajó con la diversidad bacteriana asociada al cultivo del trigo para seleccionar cepas promisorias para su uso agrícola. Objetivo: Seleccionar de la diversidad bacteriana asociadas a plantas de trigo, cepas promisorias para estimular el crecimiento de este cultivo. Métodos: Se aislaron bacterias desde la rizosfera y el interior de plantas de trigo (cultivares Cuba C 204 e I 399). Se caracterizó en condiciones in vitro su potencial para fijar nitrógeno, solubilizar nutrientes y su actividad antagonista frente a Fusarium sp y Curvularia lunata. Se inocularon las cepas en semillas de trigo en condiciones semicontroladas y se evaluó su efecto sobre indicadores del crecimiento. Resultados: Se aislaron diferentes microorganismos, dentro de ellos cuatro cepas categorizadas como Bacillus, cuatro Azotobacter y dos como Azospirillum, según su morfo-fisiología. Todos estos microorganismos fijaron nitrógeno atmosférico, y a excepción de una cepa, solubilizaron nutrientes y presentaron actividad antagonista frente a F. graminearum, F. chlamydosporum, F. oxysporum y C. lunata. Su inoculación en trigo demostró que es posible utilizar la diversidad bacteriana asociada a la especie vegetal para estimular el crecimiento de plántulas de 21 días de los cultivares Cuba C 204 e I 399. Conclusiones: Asociados a las plantas de trigo existe una diversidad microbiana con potencial para estimular el crecimiento en condiciones in vitro e in vivo, algunas de ellas promisorias para la obtención de un nuevo bioproducto de uso agrícola que incremente el rendimiento del cultivo bajo las condiciones de Cuba

Efecto coagulante de dos variedades de hoja de coca en muestras de sangre de ratas albinas

This investigation evaluates the clotting effect of extracts of two varieties of coca leaves: Erytrhoxylum coca var. Coca and novogranatense Erytrhoxylum var. Truxillense. The aim of the study was to determine the shortest time of clotting of the blood samples of the albin rats. 34 males and female rats were selected to have 3 ml. of blood of each one. The blood samples were distributed in three probes containing: 0,06 ml. of physiological serum (control group), 0,06 ml. extract of E. coca lam var. coca (coca group), and 0,06 ml. of extract E. novogranatense var. truxillense (truxillense group). The clotting time for the control group was of 1,42 (±0.31) min, coca group: 1,38 (±0.26) min, truxillense group 1,83 (±0.55) min. The Anova analysis of the results showed significant differences between groups (p&lt;0.01). The coca group showed the shortest clotting time of all groups. The truxillense group showed an inhibiting clotting effect compared to control group.En la presente investigación se evaluó el efecto coagulante de los extractos de dos variedades de hoja de coca: Erytrhoxylum coca lam var. Coca y Erytrhoxylum novogranatense var. Truxillense. El objetivo fue determinar el menor tiempo de coagulación de muestras de sangre de ratas albinas, tratadas con los extractos. Se seleccionó una muestra de 34 ratas, machos y hembras, a las cuales se le extrajeron 3 ml de sangre a cada una, colocando 1ml de sangre en tubos que contenían 0.06 ml de suero fisiológico (grupo control), 0.06 ml de extracto de E. coca lam var. Coca (grupo coca), y 0.06 ml de extracto E. novogranatense var. Truxillense (grupo truxillense). Los tiempos de coagulación de las muestras del grupo control fue de 1.42 min (±0.31), el grupo coca obtuvo 1.38 min (±0.26) y el grupo truxillense 1.83 min (±0.55). Los promedios fueron comparados con Anova obteniendo diferencias significativas entre los grupos (p&lt;0.01). Se encontró que el grupo coca produjo el menor tiempo de coagulación que los otros dos grupos. El grupo truxillense mostró un efecto inhibidor de la coagulación comparado al grupo control

Percepciones de los estudiantes de ciencias de la salud sobre el aprendizaje cooperativo en la modalidad virtual

Objective: To identify the perceptions of implementing online cooperative learning during the 2021 II academic semesterby first-year students of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) School of Medicine. Materials and methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional research design was used in this study. The population consisted of 592 students from the professional schools of Human Medicine, Nursing, Obstetrics, Nutrition and Medical Technology. A random probability sampling was carried out and a sample of 429 students was obtained. The Cooperative Learning Questionnaire with an 8-point Likert scale response format developed by McLeish was used as an instrument for data collection. It is a reliable and valid instrument that was administered online to the sample of students at the end of the course using Google Forms. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using IBM SPSS Statistics V22. The descriptive statistics included frequencies, averages and standard deviation. Results: Out of the students in the sample, 65.9 % were females and 34.1 % were males. Most participants had favorableperceptions of online cooperative learning, with averages between 3.77 and 4.53. Favorable perceptions of this methodologywere mainly identified in the dimensions quality of the group interaction process, teaching of interpersonal skills in smallgroups and positive interdependence. Conclusions: The students had favorable perceptions of online cooperative learning because it helped them to improve their social skills, favored their attitude toward group work, allowed them to participate in the sessions with enthusiasm,helped them to improve peer interaction, and promoted the development of their creativity and interpersonal skills. Therefore, its implementation and analysis of achievements in online environments are recommended.Objetivo: Identificar las percepciones de los estudiantes de primer año de estudios de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) sobre la aplicación del aprendizaje cooperativo en la modalidad virtual durante el semestre académico 2021-II. Materiales y métodos: El diseño de investigación aplicado en este estudio fue descriptivo y transversal. La población estuvo conformada por 592 estudiantes pertenecientes a las escuelas profesionales de Medicina Humana, Enfermería, Obstetricia, Nutrición y Tecnología Médica. Se realizó un muestreo probabilístico aleatorio y se obtuvo una muestra de 429 estudiantes. Para la recolección de datos, se empleó como instrumento el Cuestionario de Aprendizaje Cooperativo, con un formato de respuesta en escala Likert, que consta de 8 indicadores y fue elaborado por McLeish. El instrumento es confiable y válido; fue aplicado a lamuestra de estudiantes al finalizar la asignatura de manera virtual mediante Google Forms. Los datos cuantitativos se analizaron descriptivamente con el programa SPSS 22. La estadística descriptiva que se aplicó incluye frecuencias, promedios y desviaciónestándar. Resultados: De los estudiantes que conformaron la muestra, el 65,9 % fueron mujeres y el 34,1 %, hombres. La mayor parte de los participantes tuvo percepciones favorables hacia el aprendizaje cooperativo en la modalidad virtual, y se obtuvieron promediosentre 3,77 y 4,53. Se identificaron percepciones favorables hacia esta metodología, principalmente en las dimensiones calidad delproceso de interacción del grupo, enseñanza de habilidades interpersonales en grupos pequeños e interdependencia positiva. Conclusiones: Los estudiantes tuvieron percepciones favorables hacia el aprendizaje cooperativo en la modalidad virtual, ya que contribuyó a mejorar su socialización, favoreció su actitud hacia el trabajo en grupo, permitió su participación en las sesiones con agrado, ayudó a mejorar sus interacciones con sus pares, desarrolló su creatividad y habilidades interpersonales, por lo cual se recomienda su aplicación y análisis de los logros en los entornos virtuales

Actualización de Criterios Diagnósticos y Tratamiento de la Angina de Ludwig

Ludwig’s angina is a rapidly progressive cellulitis that involves sub mandibular, sub lingual and submental spaces bilaterrally. This was due mainly to per apical infections of the second and third mandible molars. Due to the rapid advancement of the clinical (which in certain occasions could even threaten the patient’s life) it is extremely important to know clearly the criteria for early diagnosis of Ludwig’s angina, which will enable us to provide the most appropriate treatment to halt the progress of the clinical and will prevent the onset of life-threatening complications.La angina de Ludwig es una celulitis rápidamente progresiva que compromete bilateralmente los espacios submaxilar, sublingual y submentoniano; y que se origina principalmente por infecciones periapicales de las segundas y terceras molares mandibulares. Debido a la rápida progresión del cuadro, que en algunos casos puede incluso poner en peligro la vida del paciente, es sumamente importante conocer los criterios necesarios para realizar un diagnóstico oportuno de la angina de Ludwig, el cual nos permita brindar el tratamiento más adecuado para detener la progresión del cuadro y prevenir la aparición de complicaciones potencialmente mortales