Exposición a plaguicidas en agroaplicadores terrestres de la provincia de Córdoba, Argentina: factores condicionantes

La provincia de Córdoba, Argentina, ha sufrido una gran expansión de su superficie cultivada, y con ello, de los volúmenes aplicados de plaguicidas. Éstos poseen un gran impacto ambiental y producen efectos adversos en seres vivos,incluido el hombre. El presente trabajo propuso caracterizar a una población de aplicadores terrestres de plaguicidas de Córdoba y describir los factores condicionantes de la exposición y adopción de medidas de protección, mediante el análisis de asociaciones con sus características sociodemográficas, sus prácticas laborales y uso de tecnologías. Se implementó un cuestionario autoadministrado en 629 sujetos de toda la provincia. Se obtuvo información acerca de uso de plaguicidas, hábitos de vida y valoración de la exposición actual y pasada a plaguicidas. El 30% de los trabajadores vive a menos de 100 m del cultivo más cercano y más de la mitad aplican anualmente hasta 5000 ha; el 60% no utiliza protección. Los sujetos con pareja conviviente usan mayor nivel de protección personal. El uso de maquinarias equipadas con filtro de carbono activado e implementación de receta firmada por ingeniero agrónomo se asociaron positivamente al uso de equipos de protección personal

Percutaneous aponeurotomy and lipofilling: A regenerative alternative to flap reconstruction?

BACKGROUND:: The application of a new approach is presented, percutaneous aponeurotomy and lipofilling, which is a minimally invasive, incisionless alternative to traditional flap reconstructions. METHODS:: The restrictive subdermal cicatrix and/or endogenous aponeurosis is punctured, producing staggered nicks. Expansion of the restriction reconstructs the defect and creates a vascularized scaffold with micro-openings that are seeded with lipografts. Wide subcutaneous cuts that lead to macrocavities and subsequent graft failure are avoided. Postoperatively, a splint to hold open the neomatrix/graft construct in its expansive state is applied until the grafts mature. Thirty-one patients underwent one to three operations (average, two) for defects that normally require flap tissue transfer: wounds where primary closure was not possible (n = 9), contour defects of the trunk and breast requiring large-volume fat grafts (n = 8), burn contractures (n = 5), radiation scars (n = 6), and congenital constriction bands (n = 3). RESULTS:: The regenerated tissue was similar in texture and consistency to the surrounding tissues. Wider meshed areas had greater tissue gain (range, 20 to 30 percent). There were no significant wound-healing issues, scars, or donor-site morbidities. Advancement tension was relieved without flap undermining or decreased perfusion. CONCLUSIONS:: Realizing that, whether scar or endogenous fascia, the subdermal aponeurosis limits tissue stretch and/or its three-dimensional expansion, a minimally invasive procedure that expands this cicatrix into a matrix ideally suited for fat micrografts was developed. Grafting this scaffold applies tissue-engineering principles to generate the needed tissue and represents a regenerative alternative to reconstructive flap surgery

Cancer incidence pattern in Cordoba, Argentina

Cancer is the second cause of death in Argentina; nevertheless the distribution of the cancer incidence rates throughout the country is unknown. This study was conducted to describe cancer incidence patterns in C\uf3rdoba Province. Incidence data were supplied by the Government C\uf3rdoba Cancer Registry. Demographic information (age, sex, and place of residence) and diagnosis, certified by a pathologist, about all incident cases from June 2003 to May 2005 by type and 5-year age groups were obtained. Comparison of the incidence rate of cancer in various counties was performed by using standardized incidence rates (SIR) per 100,000 inhabitants using the world standard population. Estimated SIRs were used to build up incidence maps. Two indicators were created: sex ratio and site-specific ratio. Mixed Poisson models were fitted. Taken as a whole for all counties, SIR was 121.42 and 141.57 for men and women, respectively. The most common sites in men were prostate (13.62), lung (10.12), colon (7.53), and bladder (7.03); in women were breast (22.51) and colon (3.31). The highest and lowest rates were in urban and rural areas, respectively. Cancer registry has a pivotal role in cancer control. Such information is the primary resource of information not only for epidemiological research on cancer determinants but also for planning and evaluating health services for the policies of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes

OBJECTIVE - Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired b-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ;2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS - Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10-8). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/ C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 3 10-4), improved b-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10-5), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10-6). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS - We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis