Double-chambered right ventricle in an adult patient diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography

BACKGROUND: Double-chambered right ventricle is a rare congenital disease frequently misdiagnosed in the adult patient. An anomalous muscle band divides the right ventricle in two cavities causing variable degree of obstruction. Although echocardiography is considered a useful method for the diagnosis of this pathology in children, it has been recognized the transthoracic scanning limitation in adults. CASE PRESENTATION: A 29 year-old patient with double-chambered right ventricle presenting mild exercise intolerance referred for follow up of a known ventricular septal defect in whom a complete diagnosis was obtained based only on transthoracic two dimensional echocardiography without the needing of cardiac catheterization. CONCLUSION: Based on non invasive echocardiographic diagnosis, patient was referred to surgical correction, which was completely successful

Heading towards an unsustainable world: some of the implications of not achieving the SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were conceived at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 (Rio + 20), and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. They are part of a larger framework, namely the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Since then, many countries round the world have been engaging in respect of their implementation. The slow progress seen in the implementation of the SDGs, is in contrast with the many negative implications of not implementing them. This paper outlines the relevance of the SDGs, the barriers currently seen in respect of their implementation and outlines what is at stake, if they are not duly implemented. To accomplish this, a thorough literature review of contributions published in the field of SDGs in English between the years 2012–2020 was performed

Lutzomyia adiketis sp. n. (Diptera: Phlebotomidae), a vector of Paleoleishmania neotropicum sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in Dominican amber

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Amber fossils can be used to trace the history of disease-vector associations because microorganisms are preserved "in situ" inside the alimentary tract and body cavity of blood-sucking insects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Lutzomyia adiketis </it>sp. n. (Phlebotomidae: Diptera) is described from Dominican amber as a vector of <it>Paleoleishmania neotropicum </it>sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae). The fossil sand fly differs from all previously described extinct and extant members of the genus by the following combination of characters: Sc forked with the branches meeting the costa and radius veins; wing L/W value of 4.1; a δ value of 18; a ratio β/α value of 0.86, and the shape and size of the spatulate rods on the ninth sternite. The trypanosomatid is characterized by the structure of its promastigotes, amastigotes and paramastigotes and its transmission by an extinct species of sand fly.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Morphological characters show that the fossil sand fly is a new extinct species and that it is host to a digenetic species of trypanosomatid. This study provides the first fossil evidence that Neotropical sand flies were vectors of trypanosomatids in the mid-Tertiary (20–30 mya).</p