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Biomedical subjects

E Carrillo

Publications and source records attributed to E Carrillo.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Sex differences and bilateral electrodermal activity: a replication.

The present study was aimed at replicating the results of a previous work on sex differences and electrodermal asymmetry from our laboratory (Román, et al. 1987). Skin conductance was bilaterally recorded in a sample of 44 dextral volunteers (22 males and 22 females) during a stimulus-free period, and the performance of two tasks (verbal and spatial). Subjects were grouped into two groups of right-hand and left-hand dominance in their electrodermal responses (EDRs) in accordance with their laterality coefficient scores at rest. During the tasks subjects appeared clearly differentiated by their lateralization in the magnitude and frequency of EDRs independently of gender: right-hand responders showed higher electrodermal activity on their right hand, while left-hand responders showed higher electrodermal activity on their left hand. Sex differences were not observed within each responsiveness pattern. The orientation of phasic electrodermal changes remained constant throughout the different conditions.

Adolescent↗

[Patient classification systems in intermediate and long-term stay institutions: evolution and future perspectives].

The importance of long term care sector is increasingly growing. Actually, the use of patient classification systems is a useful tool for the planning and management of health services for chronic and geriatric patients. Despite being much less known, patient classification systems have had a richer and earlier development in the long term care sector than in the acute care sector. Thus, one could could see the evolution from classifications based on the assessment of functional dependency to classifications progressively including variables corresponding to clinical complexity, and finally to complex systems such as RUG-III. Patient classification systems were first utilised as tools for the financing of long term centres, based on the patients' characteristics. Later, their applications have spread out to objectives related to the management of centres, assessment of quality of care, staff allocation level, control of access and national policies. In Spain, the only experience in the use of a patient classification system is the one used by the Catalan Health Care Administration which uses a classification for the financing of their centres.

Activities of Daily Living↗

[Minimum data sets in ambulatory care].

A sensible and rational approach is necessary in order to match the growing requirements of information on the ambulatory care sector characterised by a big deal of complexity and variability. This must be applied to any initiative attempting to obtain any degree of harmonization in ambulatory care data sets. This paper summarises a conceptual aspect of the work undertaken by the project Measurement Characterization and Control of Ambulatory Care in Europe (McACE) sponsored by the Commission of the European Communities under the exploratory phase of the Advanced Informatics in Medicine (AIM) programme. Our approach places in the first priority the efficiency when assessing the information needs of the different actors trying to make a balanced approach between the costs of collecting and processing a specific item and its use. For this we performed a conceptual validation of the term Minimum Basic Data Set and its potential application to the Ambulatory Care Sector. It is suggested its substitution by the term Minimum Data Set as a part of a practical tool for promoting the harmonization of the information in ambulatory care.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗

[The reasons for consultation and active problems. A key for the understanding of information in primary care].

The aim of this work is to assess the major differences found in the information content of the registers in primary care according to whether the registration includes the Reason (s) For Encounter (as ascertained by the professional) or the Active Health Problem (s). The information used is based on an observational study of a representative sample of the consultations to eight general practitioners from the Principate of Andorra. The study was performed during the period of May-June 1989. 547 consultations are analysed. A better specificity and information content is observed when both approaches are registered. Active Health Problems seem to be barely related to Reasons for Encounter and it seems that they could have as much, if no more. Influence in the process of care, than the RFEs it selves.

Adolescent↗

[Agreement between information supplied by the patient and a family member on medical history, consumption of tobacco, alcohol and coffee and diet in cancer of the exocrine pancreas and extrahepatic biliary tract].

OBJECTIVE: No study on mutations in the K-ras oncogene and cancer of the exocrine pancreas or cancer of the biliary system has analyzed the reliability of clinical and epidemiological information. METHODS: Agreement between patient and surrogate on factors potentially related to both tumours was evaluated within a multicentre prospective study. Interviews were personally administered to both patient and surrogate (N = 110 pairs). Agreement was examined via the simple kappa index (k), the weighted kappa index (kw), the percentage of simple agreement, and the percentages of positive and negative agreement. RESULTS: Agreement for medical history was excellent (k between 0.89 and 0.76), as it was for tobacco consumption (k = 0.98). Agreement was moderate for coffee consumption (k = 0.68), frequencies of food groups (kw from 0.66 to 0.38), and consumption of alcoholic drinks (k from 0.66 to 0.32). Surrogates indicated a higher consumption of alcohol than patients. CONCLUSION: Surrogates can be an alternative source of information when patients cannot be interviewed, but information on alcohol consumption should be treated with caution.

Adult↗

Identification of optimal regions for phylogenetic studies on VP1 gene of foot-and-mouth disease virus: analysis of types A and O Argentinean viruses.

An analysis of the informative content of sequence stretches on the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) VPI gene was applied to two important viral serotypes: A and O. Several sequence regions were identified to allow the reconstruction of phylogenetic trees equivalent to those derived from the whole VPI gene. The optimal informative regions for sequence windows of 150 to 250 nt were predicted between positions 250 and 550 of the gene. The sequences spanning the 250 nt of the 3' end (positions 400 to 650), extensively used for FMDV phylogenetic analyses, showed a lower informative content. In spite of this, the use of sequences from this region allowed the derivation of phylogenetic trees for type A and type O FMDVs which showed topologies similar to those previously reported for the whole VP1 gene. When the sequences determined for viruses isolated in Argentina, between 1990 and 1993, were included in these analyses, the results obtained revealed features of the circulation of type A and type O viruses in the field, in the months that preceded the eradication of the disease in this country. Type A viruses were closely related to an Argentinean vaccine strain, and defined an independent cluster within this serotype. Among the type O viruses analysed, two groups were distinguished; one was closely related to the South American vaccine strains, while the other was grouped with viruses of the O3 subtype. In addition, a detailed phylogeny for type A FMDV is presented.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Long-term therapy with a single daily subcutaneous dose of growth hormone releasing hormone (1-29) in prepubertal growth hormone deficient children. Venezuelan Collaborative Study Group.

As part of a multicenter study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of one daily subcutaneous dose of 30 micrograms/kg of GHRH, 16 prepubertal GH-deficient children with a mean chronological age of 9.0 +/- 2.3 years were treated for 12 to 24 months. After six months of therapy 11 children (68.7%) were considered good responders in that their growth velocity increased by greater than 2 cm/yr over baseline and were continued on GHRH, while five subjects (31.3%) were regarded as poor responders and switched to recombinant hGH for the following six months. Growth velocity increased significantly in responders from a baseline of 3.4 +/- 0.7 cm/yr (mean +/- SD) to 6.8 +/- 0.1 cm/yr, 6.2 +/- 0.9 cm/yr, 6.6 +/- 1.0 cm/yr and 6.5 +/- 0.7 cm/yr at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months respectively. Bone ages advanced by an amount equivalent to the months of treatment. GHRH antibodies were detected in 4/11 and 6/11 responders at six and 12 months of treatment and in 2/5 non-responders at six months, but seemed not to interfere with growth. No side effects or changes in glucose and lipid levels were noted during therapy. These results suggest that GHRH (1-29) at the dose and schedule used is generally effective in the treatment of GH deficiency.

Body Height↗

Acipimox, a nicotinic acid analog, stimulates growth hormone secretion in short healthy prepubertal children.

Recent studies in adult volunteers have demonstrated that the free fatty acid reduction induced by acipimox, a nicotinic acid analog, stimulated GH secretion per se and enhanced in an additive manner the GH secretion elicited by such different stimuli as pyridostigmine, GHRH and GHRP-6. In order to evaluate whether acipimox administration stimulates GH secretion in prepubertal children, we administered a single oral dose of acipimox (100 mg for children weighing <30 kg and 200 mg for those >30 kg) to 14 healthy prepubertal children with a mean age of 8.2 +/- 1.9 years, a mean bone age of 6.2 +/- 3.0 years, growing along the 5-10th percentiles, and with normal thyroid function and IGF-I levels. Acipimox administration elicited a sustained increase in GH from a mean baseline level of 0.6 +/- 0.4 to 6.7 +/- 2.4 microg/l at the end of the test (p<0.05), with a mean GH peak of 10.5 +/- 3.5 microg/l. GH release was delayed so that peak GH levels were achieved 180 minutes after acipimox administration. In order to determine whether acipimox was capable of enhancing the GH secretion elicited by levodopa (L-Dopa), we administered either oral L-Dopa (250 mg for children weighing <30 kg and 500 mg for those >30 kg) or oral acipimox plus L-Dopa to the same children on different days. GH concentrations increased in a similar fashion following either of these tests (from a baseline level of 1.2 +/- 0.4 and 0.7 +/- 0.4 microg/l to 8.4 +/- 2.7 and 9.3 +/- 2.9 microg/l at the end of the test (p<0.001), with peak GH concentrations of 13.1 +/- 4.1 and 11.8 +/- 3.3 microg/l after L-Dopa or acipimox plus L-Dopa, respectively). Although the peak GH concentrations obtained after the combined administration of acipimox plus L-Dopa were similar to those obtained after either acipimox or L-Dopa administration, a larger number of our patients reached a GH cut-off point of >7 microg/l following combined therapy than with either stimulus alone (13/14 patients with combined therapy and 10/14 with acipimox alone). No side effects other than mild facial flushing were noted after acipimox administration. These results indicate that: 1) following the administration of a single oral dose of acipimox, significant GH secretion was elicited in healthy short prepubertal children; 2) the combined administration of acipimox plus L-Dopa did not, however, enhance the GH secretion of this group of children; 3) acipimox was well tolerated with minimal side effects; and 4) further studies in both GH sufficient and GH deficient children are necessary to evaluate acipimox's usefulness in assessing GH reserve.

Body Height↗

Using the handicap code of the ICIDH for classifying patients by intensity of nursing care requirements.

An 11-class patient classification system (PCS) has been built on a recode of two dimensions of the handicap code of the ICIDH: physical independence and mobility handicaps. The proposed system, called MAC XI, explains 78% of the variance of nursing care hours required by nursing-home residents and extended-care hospital patients. This percentage of variation is higher than the one explained by traditional dependency grids such as the Exton-Smith, Murphy, Kuntzmann and SMAF. MAC XI, based on two dimensions of the handicap code, is thus a powerful tool for predicting intensity of nursing care for staffing and budgeting purposes in long-term care institutions.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Newcastle disease virus surveillance in Argentina: use of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and sequencing for molecular typification.

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) remains a major pathogen of poultry where highly virulent strains require reporting to the Office of International Epizootes. NDV is a paramyxovirus existing as different strains classified on the basis of severity of the disease they cause. The present study was conducted in Argentina to determine the prevalence of highly virulent velogenic NDV strains in commercial poultry farms. Tracheal and cloacal swabs from 693 flocks, representing 14% of the broiler production, were collected and pooled. A pool amplified twice in embryonated eggs presented a limited hemagglutination titer. We performed reverse transcription coupled to polymerase chain reaction to amplify fusion and matrix protein gene sequences of the isolate and the strain Trenque Lauquen, isolated in Argentina during an outbreak in 1970-71 and previously characterized as velogenic viscerotropic by biological methods. The amino acid sequences were deduced from nucleotide sequences of the amplification products and the pathotype predicted according to the sequences obtained. From the samples analyzed, we found only one type of NDV, being the isolate identified as lentogenic NDV. This strain is probably the one used in vaccination of flocks where that sample was obtained. These data have allowed us to consider a velogenic NDV-free status in Argentina's commercial poultry.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Seasonal diet of Tayassu pecari (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica ].

The diet of the white-lipped peccari Tayassu pecari was studied from July 1996 to April 1997 in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica, through fecal analysis and direct observations. The feces consisted of 61.6% fruits, 37.5% vegetative parts, 0.4% invertebrates and 0.5% unidentified material. These proportions are similar to those reported for white-lipped peccaries diet in South America, but the species consumed were different. In Corcovado, the white-lipped peccary fed on parts of 57 plant species (37 of them fruits). Moraceae was the most represented family. In contrast, the diet of the Peruvian Amazon peccary primarily consists of plant parts (Arecaceae). Costa Rican peccary diet consisted of vegetative parts from Araceae and Heliconaceae. Direct observation showed that peccaries spent 30% of feeding time rooting. Samples taken from rooting sites suggest that peccaries fed on earthworms. Diet differed between months, seasons and habitats. They ate more fruits in coastal and primary forests and more vegetative parts in secondary forest. In the months Octubrer and November the consumption of vegetative parts exceeded fruit consumption.

Animals↗

Biological and molecular characterization of a pigeon paramyxovirus type-1 isolate found in Argentina.

In this report, we describe the biological and molecular characterization of a paramyxovirus type-1 (PPMV-1) isolate found in wild pigeons in an urban habitat in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Of the nine pigeons captured, three were moribund, and the other six showed diarrhea, ataxia, tremor, torticolis, and wing paralysis. The intracerebral pathogenicity index was 1.29, and the amino acid (aa) sequence at the fusion protein cleavage site was 112GRQ KRF117. These characteristics correspond to a virulent Newcastle disease virus isolate. Nevertheless, it was not possible to reproduce the disease in chickens experimentally although the chickens exhibited seroconversion after inoculation. On the other hand, pigeons inoculated with the isolate became sick. These results provide further evidence about the unusual pathogenicity of PPMV-1 for chickens and show once more the need for more biological determinations in these cases to arrive at a final conclusion.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari, Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) diet and fruit availability in a Costa Rican rain forest.

We studied fruit availability, diet and habitat use by white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) in Corcovado National Park, southwest Costa Rica, from July 1996 to April 1997. The results show that the availability of important fruits for the white-lipped peccary differs between habitats and climatic seasons. Fruit availability was highest in the primary forest than secondary and coastal forest. There was a period of shortage of fruits to ends of the wet season, during which the consumption of not seasonal resources like leaves and shafts increased. The important fruits during this period of shortage were Ficus sp and Licania operculipetala. The several types of forest were used according to the fruit availability, and it was a direct relation between the consumption and the fruit availability.

Animals↗

[Feeding habits of raccoon (Procyon lotor) (Carnivora: Procyonidae) in a coastal, tropical wet forest of Costa Rica].

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) food habits were studied at Manuel Antonio National Park, a tropical rain forest in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica from May to December 1987, from September to December 1989 and from January to April 1990. A 134 feces sample size was used to assess the most important items in raccoon diet: two crab species (Gecarcinus quadratus and Cardisoma crassum) with a relative frequency of 0.94 in the rainy season of 1987, 0.76 in the rainy season of 1989 and 0.65 in the dry season of 1990. Fruits were the second category in importance, with relative frequencies of 0.09 for 1987, 0.32 for 1989 and 0.44 for 1990.

Animals↗