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Biomedical subjects

F Emiliani

Publications and source records attributed to F Emiliani.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Focal nodular hyperplasia after busulfan treatment.

The case of a 48-year-old woman in whom focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver developed after busulfan therapy was administered for essential thrombocytosis is described. Focal nodular hyperplasia is a reactive disorder related to a circulation disorder. The close temporal relation between the haematological disease, busulfan treatment and the appearance of hyperplastic diseases of the liver in our patient supports the possibility that the association of the events might not be casual.

Busulfan↗
PubMed2005

Anaphylactic shock to Argas reflexus bite.

Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction, affecting both children and adults. The occurrence of anaphylaxis is not as rare as generally believed (1.21% to 15.04% of the US population). Often the cause of this reaction remain unknown, mainly due to the difficulty in defining the outbreaking causes. Herein, we describe an interesting case of a patient, who developed an anaphylactic reaction after the bite of a pigeon tick. During the last 2 years, in wintertime, the patient often came to the emergency room for general rash and swelling, hypotension and tachycardia preceded by itching and general distress. Notably, the symptoms manifested themselves as night fell. In two particular occasions the patient reached the hospital in a state of shock. After another episode of general swelling, the patient was invited to examine her domestic environment. She brought us some parasites, collected at home, particularly on the bed. A morphological examination by entomologists proved these parasites to belong to Argas reflexus (Arg.r.), one of the 31 species of soft ticks. The presence of specific IgE to a protein secreted by the Arg.r. salivary glands was in favour of immediate-type systemic reaction, as supposed by the clinical history.

Anaphylaxis↗
PubMed2003

Anaphylactic reaction to cinoxacin: report of one case associated with inferior acute myocardial infarction.

Cinoxacin is an oral synthetic antibacterial agent, of the second generation quinolones group, with excellent efficacy in respiratory, intra-abdominal, pelvic, and skin and soft tissue infections. Overall, quinolones are well tolerated drugs, although phototoxicity and photoallergenicity is well demonstrated experimentally. In this report we show you a case of a man who presented a anaphylactic reaction associated with myocardial infarction, after taking a capsule of cinoxacin. We suppose that there is a direct participation of the heart in anaphylactic reactions, because acttivated mast-cells mediators can determine cardiovascular effects. Then performed double-blind placebo controlled challenge test with an alternative drug. We did not observe any adverse immediate or late adverse reaction to this drug.

4-Quinolones↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Temporal and spatial variations of coliforms and Escherichia coli in fluvial recreational waters (Salado River, Santa Fe, Argentina). Relationship with the quality standards].

There are no standards accepted by all the countries to fix top concentrations of microbiological indicators in recreational waters. Even now there is still a considerable discussion either in USA as in Europe. The universal application of a bacteriological quality criterion is hard due to several environmental factors that affect the relation between the indicator, the exposition and the health risks. Our purpose was to present a case study as an example of the influence of the climatic conditions in the application of the most known standards (Environmental Protection Agency of USA, Council of European Communities, World Organization of Health, and others from Canada, South Africa and Hong Kong). The pluvial rainfall increased the number of E. coli, thermotolerant coliforms (C Te), and total coliforms (CT) 6-10 fold, in comparison to the number registered during the steady-state conditions of the system. However, not all the standards included that factor. In Summer, hourly, daily and weekly variations were proved, therefore the standards that suggest fortnightly sampling frequencies would not be convenient in that system. Although the main source of variation was time, spatial variability was also detected. The percentage of E. coli among the C Te was very variable, but the average resulted low (26%) compared to the levels in temperate regions of other countries (> 90%). According to the directives proposed by the Commission of European Communities, the parameter has been changed (C Te for E. coli), but the standard has remained (2000/100 ml). Thus, the directive would be more permissive.

Argentina↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Escherichia coli: diversity of biochemical phenotypes in aquatic environments (Santa, Fe, Argentina)].

During certain environmental conditions, the floating aquatic vegetation, mainly represented by Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) invade and even cover water courses assigned to recreational activities or to the supply of drinkable water. The rhizosphere of these plants constitutes an unknown biotope of bacteria of sanitary interest, possibly different from waters without vegetation and of the sediment of the same aquatic system. To verify such possibility, 206 isolated strains in MacConkey Agar (Difco) were typified and identified (78 from water, 65 from sediment and 63 from rhizosphere) using the API 20 E system (v. 4.0) and Apilab plus software (v 3.3.3), both of bioMérieux (Marcy-l'Etoile, France, 1998). Nineteen different biochemical phenotypes from E. coli were found. The 79% of the population belonged to only 7 phenotypes; the 21% remaining, to the other 12 phenotypes. Twelve phenotypes did not share the biotopes, while only 4 were in the three. These results (and those obtained by other authors who used the API 20 E system in other biotopes) suggest that it would be possible to characterize the rhizosphere using those phenotypes that are found in smaller proportion. The greatest index of diversity (H) and evenness (E) were found in the rhizosphere (H = 2.903; E = 0.874). The dendrogram (average distances and UPGMA method) reaffirms the dissimilarity in biochemical phenotypes of E. coli populations of the rhizosphere with regard to the other biotopes. The most abundant bacterial species in the three biotopes were E. coli, Klebsiella terrigena and K. pneumoniae, corresponding to 75.2% of the community. The rhizosphere differed from Serratia odorifera and from Klebsiella spp. because of its higher rate of isolation.

Argentina↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prediction of the bacteriological quality of natural waters in urban environments. Effect of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation].

At the moment of examination, the bacteriological quality of water is not, to a large extent, more than an a posteriori evaluation: the population is advised afterwards that it had been exposed to a sanitary risk. The ideal situation for managing aquatic environments or recreational use would be to be able to predict at any moment their bacteriological quality. An approach would be to develop predictive models to relate the exceedance (number of days during which the bacteriological indicator exceeds the standards) with environmental variables. Studies were carried out at two beaches with different limnological characteristics, a fluvial beach and a lacustrine beach, from the beginning of 1998 to the end of 2000, so that it was possible to obtain information on the impact of very different hydroclimatic situations on microorganisms of sanitary interest (Escherichia coli and cyanobacteria). Three variables, maximum concentration of E. coli, rains and water level, justified 92.6% of the exceedance variance in the multiple regression model at the fluvial beach. Other abiotic variables (temperature, pH, conductivity, transparency and dissolved oxygen) showed collinearity problems or did not make statistically significant contributions to the model. During the El Niño event (gauge heights > 5 m) there were no exceedances after the rains, even with precipitations of 200 mm. Moreover, cyanobacteria density remained low (x = 1.191 +/- 0.703 log10 cian./ml). During the negative pluvial anomalies, although the exceedances of E. coli were not very frequent at both beaches due to the scarce rains, a massive development of cyanobacteria was produced (x = 4.657 +/- 0.578 log10 cian./ml) at the lacustrine beach. At this beach, the mean decay coefficient (K) for E. coli was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that estimated for the fluvial beach (K = -0.682 +/- 0.32 versus K = -0.387 +/- 0.16, respectively), possibly due to the unfavourable environment created by the higher development of photosynthetic organisms. Analizing separately the anomalous period, variables that better explained (98.6%) the exceedances were (in addition to the maximum concentration of E. coli) pH, temperature and days without rains (DWR) before the sampling. The longest exceedances (6 to 8 days) were produced at the end of the negative pluvial anomalies, after prolonged periods (> 30 days) of droughts. Regression models obtained to predict the exceedance of E. coli were simplified using only three abiotic variables (water level, rains and DWR). Although, in this way, the percentage of explanation of the exceedance is lower (78.5%), the information needed for the model is obtained quickly and preventive measures can be carried out immediately while waiting for more information.

Argentina↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of hydroclimatic anomalies on bacteriological quality of the Middle Paraná River (Santa Fe, Argentina).

Lenitic and lotic aquatic environments were studied in the Middle Paraná River basin, one of the largest rivers of the world (basin: 1,510,000 km2, length: 2,570 km). The Paraná River (S 31 degrees 42' 04"; W 60 degrees 29' 39"), during El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) (1997-1998), registered maximum flows of 29,962 m3 s(-1) (more than twice the mean flow) and also positive pluvial anomalies (A) (from +120 mm to +161 mm). However, concentrations of Escherichia coli remained low, with values similar to the mean (p > 0.05) (1.3802 log10cfu/100 ml). Only a maximum peak (1.903 log10cfu/100 ml), significantly higher than the mean (p < 0.0001), was detected during the ascending phase of the flood pulse. During La Niña (September 1999-March 2000; Q = 11,255 m3 s(-1); A = -78 mm to -84 mm), concentrations of E. coli were significantly lower than the mean (p < 0.0001). During the post-Niña period, with normal flows (Q = 14,900 m3 s(-1)) but with strong positive pluvial anomalies (A = +118 mm to +377 mm), the fecal indicator density reached maximum values (up to 2.699 log10cfu/100 ml, p < 0.0001). The multiple regression model used with all the results obtained in the Paraná River showed that variations in concentrations of E. coli are mainly explained by pluvial precipitations and hydrometric level (p = 0.001). Temporal patterns of concentrations of E. coli in a small, secondary course (Q = 101 m3 s(-1)) followed those of the Paraná River, but concentrations and peaks of E. coli produced by exceptional rains showed a higher magnitude (maximum: 3.325 log10cfu/100 ml). In the floodplain lakes, away from urban centers, concentrations of E. coli were not associated to hydroclimatic anomalies, but directly to vegetable cover: maximum concentrations were always registered during periods that lakes remained covered by floating macrophytes (mainly Eichhornia crassipes); on the contrary, minimum concentrations were registered during periods without vegetable cover.

Argentina↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Frequency of vibrio cholerae isolation from water and plankton of the lower Salado river basin (Santa Fe, Argentina)].

In the lower Salado River Basin 85 samples of water and 40 of plankton were collected from January 1993 to December 1996. In the 69.4% of the water samples and in the 75% of the plankton samples Vibrio cholerae was detected. None of the isolate strains belonged to O1 and O139 serogroups. The seasonality in the frequency of isolation of V. cholerae tested by multiple proportions comparison test was not confirmed (p > 0.05). There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the isolation frequencies found in the Salado River (85 samples, 69.4%) and those found in the Paraná River environments (16 samples, 25%) and in municipal waste effluents (18 samples, 33.3%).

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Bacteriological quality of Bendetti Lake (Santo Tomé, Santa Fe Province, Argentina) and associated environmental variables].

The main objective was to determine the bacteriological quality of a shallow lake in the lower Salado River Basin (Bedetti, 31 degrees 40' S and 60 degrees 45' W). Seventy samples were tested by the most probable number (MPN) method, throughout three years. The number of thermotolerant coliforms was very variable: from 20 MPN/100 ml to 130,000 MPN/100 ml. These variations were mainly associated to the local rains (rs = 0.4853, p = 0.0001) and to the hydrometric level-h-(rs = 0.3835, p = 0.008). Statistically significant correlations between coliform bacteria and other variables (temperature, oxygen, pH, conductivity and transparency) were not found. The increase of coliforms associated to the increase of the hydrometric level indicates the presence of diffuse contamination sources. It was found that the rains affected the bacteriological quality, specially during the low water periods (h < 3.60). During the high water periods (h > 4.70) one of the main coliform contributor was represented by the incoming floating islans and aquatic macrophyte, from allochthonous fluvial systems. The coliform concentrations between the Bedetti lake and the Salado river were compared. The results show a better bacteriological quality of the lake (geometric average = 1,990/100 ml vs. 420/100 ml, n = 56) so that, connecting them by the construction of an artificial channel is not advisable.

Argentina↗