Anterior spinal artery syndrome after cervical injection of heroin.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
A Arenas
Publications and source records attributed to A Arenas.
Epidemiological survey of skin diseases in schoolchildren living in the Purus Valley (Acre State, Amazonia, Brazil).
A total of 9,955 schoolchildren aged 6-16 years have been examined in a tropical region. The prevalence of dermatosis varied from 21 to 87% in the municipalities surveyed. The most common dermatoses were pediculosis (prevalence 50%), nevi (16.8%), pityriasis versicolor (13.2%), pyoderma (12.2%), pityriasis alba (9.9%), dermatophytosis (6.2%), viral dermatosis (6.2%), scabies (3.0%) and acne vulgaris (2.7%). The prevalence of angular stomatitis, miliaria rubra, candidiasis, piedra nigra, keratosis pilaris, ephelides and geographic tongue is lower but still relatively high. Females had higher rates of pediculosis capitis and males higher prevalence of pityriasis alba. The prevalence of pityriasis versicolor, pigmented nevus and scabies was similar in males and females. Folliculitis, macular pigmented nevi and especially pityriasis versicolor tended to increase with age. Leprosy is hyperendemic in the surveyed area and its rate in the schoolchildren examined was 0.08%. Population movement (urbanization), socioeconomic situation, living conditions, promiscuity, and lack of hygiene may be the cause of such high prevalence and of association of two or more skin conditions. Climatic conditions might have enhanced the prevalence of certain dermatoses (pityriasis versicolor, dermatophytosis, piedra nigra, candidiasis, miliaria rubra).
Adolescent↗
In vitro studies of Dermatophilus congolensis antimicrobial susceptibility by determining minimal inhibitory and bacteriocidal concentrations.
The Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Bacteriocidal Concentration (MBC) of 19 antimicrobials on 16 isolates of D. congolensis were determined. The potential field efficacy of the agents was evaluated by comparing the results with serum levels of drug unbound to proteins and the in vitro and in vivo findings of other authors. A modified standard microtechnique was used for serial dilution-antimicrobial sensitivity and found to be easy and reproducible. Erythromycin, spiramycin, penicillin G, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, the streptomycin, amoxicillin, the tetracyclines and novobiocin had high serum concentrations in comparison with their MBCs and were shown to have potential use for the treatment of dermatophilosis.
Actinomycetales↗
Comparison of diagnostic techniques for porcine proliferative enteropathy (Lawsonia intracellularis infection).
In studying the post-mortem diagnosis of porcine proliferative enteropathy (PPE) a "double-blind" study was performed on 77 apparently healthy "finisher" pigs at the time of slaughter, to compare the results of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique with those of (1) an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), (2) examination for gross proliferative lesions at slaughter, (3) histopathological study of sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin (HE), and (4) Warthin-Starry (WS) silver staining for intracellular bacteria. The IFA, with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 97% (positive "likelihood ratio"=30) and an agreement of 82% with PCR, is suggested as an alternative to the PCR in the post-mortem diagnosis of PPE. Histopathological examination was shown to be of little use as a principal diagnostic method, although it appeared to be effective in diagnosing infection by Lawsonia intracellularis in cases with proliferative-type lesions (positive likelihood ratio=29.6). Finally, the values obtained from an examination of gross lesions (k=0.075; positive likelihood ratio of 1.3) and WS staining (k=0.42; positive likelihood ratio of 5.3) demonstrated the lack of validity of these tests for the diagnosis of L. intracellularis infection.
Animals↗
[Quality assessment in single-slice spiral brain CT examinations of patients with cerebrovascular accident].
OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to apply quality criteria proposed by the European Commission (EC) Guidelines to the brain CT examinations for cerebrovascular accident (CVA) diagnosis at single-slice spiral CT scanners from five different hospitals in the Madrid area. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A sample of 100 brain CT examinations was collected and independently reviewed by five radiologists, to determine the degree of fulfilment of image quality criteria. Dose measurements were performed to estimate the values of the CT dose indexes (CTDIw, CTDIair), the dose length product (DLP), and the effective dose (E). RESULTS: Once the McNemar test was applied to the sample, the number of observers' readings was reduced to three. The quality criteria were, in general, fulfilled, since mean values of image quality score between 80% and 92% were deduced, with variation coefficients per centre in the range of 0.07-0.1. However, both visualization criteria 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 exhibited similar ranges of fulfilment (38% - 94%). The good compliance with critical reproduction criteria in the study reflected the capability of these CT scanners to create images of adequate quality, although optimisation should be achieved in some of the centres. Concerning radiation exposure, the mean values per centre of the dose quantities were in the range of 42-64 mGy for the weighted CTDI (CTDIw), 423-744 mGy x cm for DLP, and 1.1-1.9 mSv for E. CONCLUSIONS: The mean values at three centres were close to but above the reference value proposed by the EC Guidelines for CTDIw (60 mGy), and lower than the corresponding reference level for DLP (1050 mGy x cm). Dose optimisation techniques focused on the adjustment of the CTDIw-related examination parameters were proposed.
Humans↗
A fuzzy ARTMAP based on quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPRs) for predicting aqueous solubility of organic compounds.
Quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPRs) for estimating aqueous solubility of organic compounds at 25 degrees C were developed based on a fuzzy ARTMAP and a back-propagation neural networks using a heterogeneous set of 515 organic compounds. A set of molecular descriptors, developed from PM3 semiempirical MO-theory and topological descriptors (first-, second-, third-, and fourth-order molecular connectivity indices), were used as input parameters to the neural networks. Quantum chemical input descriptors included average polarizability, dipole moment, resonance energy, exchange energy, electron-nuclear attraction energy, and nuclear-nuclear (core-core) repulsion energy. The fuzzy ARTMAP/QSPR correlated aqueous solubility (S, mol/L) for a range of -11.62 to 4.31 logS with average absolute errors of 0.02 and 0.14 logS units for the overall and validation data sets, respectively. The optimal 11-13-1 back-propagation/QSPR model was less accurate, for the same solubility range, and exhibited larger average absolute errors of 0.29 and 0.28 logS units for the overall and validation sets, respectively. The fuzzy ARTMAP-based QSPR approach was shown to be superior to other back-propagation and multiple linear regression/QSPR models for aqueous solubility of organic compounds.
Journal Article↗
An integrated SOM-fuzzy ARTMAP neural system for the evaluation of toxicity.
Self-organized maps (SOM) have been applied to analyze the similarities of chemical compounds and to select from a given pool of descriptors the smallest and more relevant subset needed to build robust QSAR models based on fuzzy ARTMAP. First, the category maps for each molecular descriptor and for the target activity variable were created with SOM and then classified on the basis of topology and nonlinear distribution. The best subset of descriptors was obtained by choosing from each cluster the index with the highest correlation with the target variable and then in order of decreasing correlation. This process was terminated when a dissimilarity measure increased, indicating that the inclusion of more molecular indices would not add supplementary information. The optimal subset of descriptors was used as input to a fuzzy ARTMAP architecture modified to effect predictive capabilities. The performance of the integrated SOM-fuzzy ARTMAP approach was evaluated with the prediction of the acute toxicity LC50 of a homogeneous set of 69 benzene derivatives in the fathead minnow and the oral rat toxicity LD50 of a heterogeneous set of 155 organic compounds. The proposed methodology minimized the problem of misclassification of similar compounds and significantly enhanced the predictive capabilities of a properly trained fuzzy ARTMAP network.
Fuzzy Logic↗
IgG4 levels in relation to Olea europaea immunotherapy.
We determined olive pollen-specific IgG4 levels in 100 patients, 39 of whom had been subjected to no immunotherapy (IT) for Olea (31 allergic and 8 nonallergic individuals) and 61 of whom had been administered IT as extracts, including Olea pollen (29 extracts in BUs, 24 allergenic extracts polymerized with glutaraldehyde:Allergoid and 8 extracts standardized in PNUs). IgG4 levels were correlated to the clinical picture, type of extract and average cumulative dose (ACD). We found average IgG4 levels of 0.80 +/- 0.74, 8.60 +/- 13.07 (p < 0.01) and 1.42 +/- 2.5 micrograms/ml (n.s.) for the untreated group and those treated with BU and Allergoid, respectively. The difference between the IT-BU-treated and IT-Allergoid-treated patients was significant at p < 0.01. On the other hand, we found no significant differences among the average IgG4 levels of the three groups in relation to age or sex. The group of asthmatic patients treated with BU extracts had average IgG4 levels of 16 +/- 17.34 micrograms/ml, while those of the rhinoconjunctivitic, non-asthmatic group were 5.05 +/- 6.149 micrograms/ml, with p < 0.05 (Student's "t" test). Thus, patients treated with extracts polymerized with glutaraldehyde had IgG4 levels that were similar to those of the patients subjected to no IT. Also, the group treated with IT extracts standardized in BUs had increased IgG4 levels that were correlated with the cumulative dose, particularly in asthmatic patients.
Adolescent↗
Occurrence and clinical profile of the sensitization to Chenopodium in the province of Córdoba (Spain).
The sensitization to pollen from the Amarantaceae and Chenopodiaceae families is responsible for some pollinoses according to various authors. Following an aeropalynological carried out by the Botany Division of our University, we investigated the sensitization to Chenopodium in our pollinic patients in order to establish their clinical patterns. We evaluated 14 variables in Chenopodium-sensitive (CHE +) and nonsensitive (CHE -) patients; the results were analysed by using a computerized statistical programme. Of the 1,000 records reviewed, 38% corresponded to pollinic patients, of whom 8.42% were sensitive to pollen from this family. We found no significant differences between the two groups in the parameters representative of atopic features (e.g. eosinophilia, IgE). However, marked differences were indeed found in the age of appearance of symptoms, frequency of clinical pictures, origin of the patients, duration of the symptoms and evolution upon immunotherapeutic treatment not involving this antigen. These findings endow the sensitization to Chenopodium with special features which should be taken into account in choosing a specific treatment.
Air↗
Serological survey of infections in waterfowl in the Guadalquivir marshes (Spain).
A serological survey was performed in the Guadalquivir Marshes (Southern Spain) in order to determine the presence and diffusion of six infective agents in wild waterfowl. The analysis covered 712 waterfowl from 13 species belonging to five taxa (Podicipediformes, Ciconiiformes, Anseriformes, Gruiformes, and Charadriiformes). A range of immunological techniques led to detection of antibodies against the six infective agents studied: Chlamydia psittaci (13.3%), Mycoplasma anatis (3.5%), Pasteurella anatipestifer (2.9%), duck plague virus (1.6%), Aspergillus fumigatus (1.1%), and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) (0.2%). The survey results indicated that these infective agents exist and circulate among wild waterfowl in the Guadalquivir Marshes.
Animals↗
In vivo evaluation of cellular immunity in different phases of contact dermatitis.
Contact dermatitis is a delayed hypersensitivity reaction involving the skin as shock organ. In a delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction to contact with an antigen, the afferent, central and efferent phases of the immune reaction remain untouched and the individual concerned has a nonspecific inflammatory response capacity. Hence, delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity tests and the dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) test are of great use in evaluating this type of reaction. This prompted us to evaluate the in vivo response of patients suffering from contact dermatitis, as studies on this topic have been focused on animal experimentation or in vitro techniques. We chose 30 patients with contact dermatitis and studied them at three different stages, namely, when the patients showed the typical clinical signs (acute phase), when the lesions had subsided (intercrisis phase) and when the signs had recurred (acute outbreak). We subjected them to delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity tests and the DNCB test. Both techniques revealed a decrease in the response in the intercrisis phase with respect to the other two phases and to a control group.
Adolescent↗