Morphometric Comparison of Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus (Lesueur, 1840) from Northern and Southern Atlantic Drainages of Me´xico

A morphometric comparison was performed on specimens of blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from northern (Lower Rı´o Bravo) and southern (Chiapas) Me´xico in order to identify diagnostic characters that allow their discrimination. The discriminant function analysis determined three characters to be highly diagnostic to separate the two groups of specimens: the southern group [SG] has a shorter anal base (mean 5 3.4 times in standard length [SL], range 5 3.1 to 3.7) vs northern group [NG] (mean 5 2.9 times in SL, range 5 2.7 to 3.1), a lesser head width (mean 5 6.0 times in SL, range 5.1 to 6.8) vs NG (mean 5 5.6 times, range 5 5.3 to 6.0), and a lower number of anal rays (mean 5 26, range 5 24 to 28) vs NG (mean 5 31, range 5 29 to 34). Additionally, 14 other characters were also different (P , 0.01) between both groups. All these characters support the taxonomic validation of Ictalurus meridionalis (Gu¨ nther 1864) for the individuals of SG that are currently included in I. furcatus Lesueur. Studies on comparative osteology and molecular genetics of both forms are needed for the clarification of their taxonomic status

Echographic and Kinetic Changes in the Shoulder Joint after Manual Wheelchair Propulsion Under Two Different Workload Settings

AbstractManual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury have a high prevalence of shoulder pain, due to the use of the upper extremity for independent mobility, transfers and other activities of daily living. Indeed, shoulder pain dramatically affects quality of life of these individuals. There is limited evidence obtained through radiographic techniques of a relationship between the forces acting on the shoulder during different propulsion conditions and shoulder pathologies. Today, ultrasound is widely accepted as a precise tool in diagnosis, displaying particularly effectiveness in screening the shoulder rotator cuff. Thus, we set out to perform an ultrasound-based study of the acute changes to the shoulder soft tissues after propelling a manual wheelchair in two workload settings. Shoulder joint kinetics was recorded from 14 manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury while they performed high and low intensity wheelchair propulsion tests (constant and incremental). Shoulder joint forces and moments were obtained from inverse dynamic methods, and ultrasound screening of the shoulder was performed before and immediately after the test. Kinetic changes were more relevant after the most intensive task, showing the significance of high intensity activity, yet no differences were found in ultrasound-related parameters before and after each propulsion task. It therefore appears that further studies will be needed to collect clinical data and correlate data regarding shoulder pain with both ultrasound images and data from shoulder kinetics

Foro reforma a la salud

Introducción:  La reforma de la salud en Colombia es un hecho. Aproximadamente el 50% de la reforma ya está en ejecución, evidenciada en el obligatorio cumplimiento de la atención de los servicios de urgencias, así como la atención privilegiada de niños, ancianos y embarazadas.Desarrollo: Con el fin de revisar la posición del gobierno nacional y de líderes sociales nacionales ante la reforma de la salud, se desarrolló el foro de la reforma de la salud al que se invitó al Viceministro de Salud Fernando Ruiz Gómez, quien indicó la importancia de la salud pública para descongestionar hospitales, la Representante a la Cámara, Lina María Barrera destacó 10 beneficios de la Ley Estatutaria de Salud, entre los que se destacan la eliminación de la lista del plan obligatorio de salud (POS) y la estabilización en los precios de los medicamentos. Igualmente participó la Directora Ejecutiva de ASEHISAN Nancy Cañón, quien cuestionó al Gobierno sobre el incumplimiento de varios artículos de la Ley Estatutaria de Salud, entre ellos los principios de universalidad, accesibilidad, oportunidad y continuidad, de igual forma señaló el saldo en rojo que tienen las Empresas Promotoras de Salud (EPS) con los Hospitales de Santander y finalmente la Magíster Beatriz Carvallo, Presidenta de la ANEC, expuso la situación de los usuarios de los servicios de salud y de los trabajadores de salud con grandes falencias hacia el interior del sistema.Conclusión: La reforma de la salud con el 50% en desarrollo aún presenta restricciones y solo quedan preguntas que el Gobierno responde tangencialmente.Â

Biogeographical origin and timing of the founder ichthyosis TGM1 c.1187G > A mutation in an isolated Ecuadorian population

An unusually high frequency of the lamellar ichthyosis TGM1 mutation, c.1187G > A, has been observed in the Ecuadorian province of Manabi. Recently, the same mutation has been detected in a Galician patient (Northwest of Spain). By analyzing patterns of genetic variation around this mutation in Ecuadorian patients and population matched controls, we were able to estimate the age of c.1187G > A and the time to their most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) of c.1187G > A Ecuadorian carriers. While the estimated mutation age is 41 generations ago (~1,025 years ago [ya]), the TMRCA of Ecuadorian c.1187G > A carrier haplotypes dates to just 17 generations (~425 ya). Probabilistic-based inferences of local ancestry allowed us to infer a most likely European origin of a few (16% to 30%) Ecuadorian haplotypes carrying this mutation. In addition, inferences on demographic historical changes based on c.1187G > A Ecuadorian carrier haplotypes estimated an exponential population growth starting ~20 generations, compatible with a recent founder effect occurring in Manabi. Two main hypotheses can be considered for the origin of c.1187G > A: (i) the mutation could have arisen in Spain >1,000 ya (being Galicia the possible homeland) and then carried to Ecuador by Spaniards in colonial times ~400 ya, and (ii) two independent mutational events originated this mutation in Ecuador and Galicia. The geographic and cultural characteristics of Manabi could have favored a founder effect that explains the high prevalence of TGM1 c.1187G > A in this region

Hydroxychloroquine is associated with a lower risk of polyautoimmunity: data from the RELESSER Registry

OBJECTIVES: This article estimates the frequency of polyautoimmunity and associated factors in a large retrospective cohort of patients with SLE. METHODS: RELESSER (Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Registry) is a nationwide multicentre, hospital-based registry of SLE patients. This is a cross-sectional study. The main variable was polyautoimmunity, which was defined as the co-occurrence of SLE and another autoimmune disease, such as autoimmune thyroiditis, RA, scleroderma, inflammatory myopathy and MCTD. We also recorded the presence of multiple autoimmune syndrome, secondary SS, secondary APS and a family history of autoimmune disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate possible risk factors for polyautoimmunity. RESULTS: Of the 3679 patients who fulfilled the criteria for SLE, 502 (13.6%) had polyautoimmunity. The most frequent types were autoimmune thyroiditis (7.9%), other systemic autoimmune diseases (6.2%), secondary SS (14.1%) and secondary APS (13.7%). Multiple autoimmune syndrome accounted for 10.2% of all cases of polyautoimmunity. A family history was recorded in 11.8%. According to the multivariate analysis, the factors associated with polyautoimmunity were female sex [odds ratio (95% CI), 1.72 (1.07, 2.72)], RP [1.63 (1.29, 2.05)], interstitial lung disease [3.35 (1.84, 6.01)], Jaccoud arthropathy [1.92 (1.40, 2.63)], anti-Ro/SSA and/or anti-La/SSB autoantibodies [2.03 (1.55, 2.67)], anti-RNP antibodies [1.48 (1.16, 1.90)], MTX [1.67 (1.26, 2.18)] and antimalarial drugs [0.50 (0.38, 0.67)]. CONCLUSION: Patients with SLE frequently present polyautoimmunity. We observed clinical and analytical characteristics associated with polyautoimmunity. Our finding that antimalarial drugs protected against polyautoimmunity should be verified in future studies

Cleavage of the sarcin–ricin loop of 23S rRNA differentially affects EF-G and EF-Tu binding

Ribotoxins are potent inhibitors of protein biosynthesis and inactivate ribosomes from a variety of organisms. The ribotoxin α-sarcin cleaves the large 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) at the universally conserved sarcin–ricin loop (SRL) leading to complete inactivation of the ribosome and cellular death. The SRL interacts with translation factors that hydrolyze GTP, and it is important for their binding to the ribosome, but its precise role is not yet understood. We studied the effect of α-sarcin on defined steps of translation by the bacterial ribosome. α-Sarcin-treated ribosomes showed no defects in mRNA and tRNA binding, peptide-bond formation and sparsomycin-dependent translocation. Cleavage of SRL slightly affected binding of elongation factor Tu ternary complex (EF-Tu•GTP•tRNA) to the ribosome. In contrast, the activity of elongation factor G (EF-G) was strongly impaired in α-sarcin-treated ribosomes. Importantly, cleavage of SRL inhibited EF-G binding, and consequently GTP hydrolysis and mRNA–tRNA translocation. These results suggest that the SRL is more critical in EF-G than ternary complex binding to the ribosome implicating different requirements in this region of the ribosome during protein elongation

Trends in greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cattle in Mexico between 1970 and 2010

The objective of the present work was to estimate and assess trends in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), from dairy cows in Mexico from the base year of 1970 to 2010. Empirical and mechanistic models were used to estimate enteric methane emissions based on chemical composition of diets. Methane from manure was calculated using Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and US Environmental Protection Agency recommended equations. N2O emission was calculated according to IPCC recommendations. Compared with the 1970s, current management practices using modern dairy cows increased feed conversion efficiency 32% and milk yield 62%. GHG emission intensity (i.e. emissions per unit of product) was reduced 30%, 25% and 30% for CH4, N2O and total emissions, respectively. The study showed that although GHG emissions in absolute terms increased in the past 40 years, emission intensity decreased due to higher level of production. This trend is likely to continue in the future, assuming milk production follows the same increasing trend as in other countries in North America. © 2014 CSIRO