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M Blanco

Publications and source records attributed to M Blanco.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Distribution and characterization of faecal necrotoxigenic Escherichia coli CNF1+ and CNF2+ isolated from healthy cows and calves.

Faecal swabs obtained from a random sample of 268 cows and 90 calves on 19 Lugo (northwestern Spain) farms were examined for necrotoxigenic Escherichia coli (NTEC) producing the cytotoxic necrotizing factors type 1 (CNF1) and type 2 (CNF2). We found NTEC CNF1+ and CNF2+ on 11% and 95% of the farms, respectively, NTEC producing CNF2 were significantly more frequently isolated from calves (58%) than from cows (17%) (P < 0.001). The proportion of animals colonized with CNF2+ strains on each farm ranged from 0% to 60%. NTEC strains producing CNF2 isolated from healthy cattle belonged to 27 O serogroups; however, 64% were of one of 12 serogroups (O2, O8, O8-O75, O14, O15, O55, O86, O88, O115, O121, O147, and O168). Furthermore, the serogroups determined in CNF2+ strains isolated from cows (O2, O8, and O14) were different from those found in NTEC producing CNF2 isolated from calves (O8-O75, O15, O55, O86, O88, O115 and O147).

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Separation of profen enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis using cyclodextrins as chiral selectors.

A method for resolving the enantiomers of various 2-arylpropionic acids (viz. ketoprofen, ibuprofen and fenoprofen) by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using a background electrolyte (BGE) containing a cyclodextrin as chiral selector is proposed. The effects of the type of cyclodextrin used and its concentration on resolution were studied and heptakis-2,3,6-tri- O-methyl-beta-cyclodextrin was found to be the sole effective choice for the quantitative enantiomeric resolution of all the compounds tested. The influence of pH, BGE concentration, capillary temperature and addition of methanol to the BGE on resolution and other separation-related parameters was also studied. The three compounds studied can be enantiomerically resolved with a high efficiency in a short time (less than 20 min) with no capillary treatment. This makes the proposed method suitable for assessing the enantiomeric purity of commercially available pharmaceuticals.

Cyclodextrins↗
PubMed1998

Description of the characteristics of cases with noncontiguous neural tube defects identified in a series of consecutive births.

Van Allen et al. [(1973) Am. J. Med. Genet. 47:723-743] provided evidence for multisite closure of the neural tube in humans. Reynolds et al. [(1995) Proceedings of the Greewood Genetic Center 14:70-71] and Seller [(1995) J. Med. Genet. 32:205-207] described 13 and seven cases of noncontiguous neural tube defects (NTDs) respectively and concluded that the presence of noncontiguous NTDs cannot be explained on the basis of the model of a single initiation site with bidirectional closure. Here we present a series of 14 consecutive infants with noncontiguous NTDs, describing their characteristics. These show that noncontiguous NTDs are clinically heterogeneous, may have differences in sex ratio, and could have causal heterogeneity. The different combinations of closure failure defects have shown proportions in our population that are different from those in the populations studied by Reynolds et al. and Seller.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1998

Prevalence and characteristics of necrotoxigenic Escherichia coli CNF1+ and CNF2+ in healthy cattle.

From February to July of 1994, 328 faecal samples from 32 herds were collected and examined for necrotoxigenic Escherichia coli (NTEC). Strains producing the cytotoxic necrotizing factors type 1 (CNF1) and type 2 (CNF2) were found on 4 and 63% of the farms, respectively. The proportion of animals infected within each herd varied from 0 to 38%. NTEC producing CNF2 were significantly more frequently isolated from calves (24%; 17 of 71) than from cows (4%; 11 of 257) (chi 2corr. 25.088; P < 0.001). Although the bovine CNF2+ strains belonged to 16 different serogroups, 5 (O15, O77, O88, O142 and O153) accounted for 44% of strains. This study confirmed that healthy cattle are a reservoir of NTEC producing CNF2, and revealed that CNF2+ strains are more frequently carried by calves than by adult cows.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1998

Near-infrared analytical control of pharmaceuticals. A single calibration model from mixed phase to coated tablets.

A new method for analysis of the active compound in a commercial pharmaceutical formulation in different steps of the production cycle, based on near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, is proposed. The analysis includes three different steps of the production cycle: granules ready for compression (mixed phase), cores (intermediate) and coated tablets (final product). Satisfactory predictive results for production samples, independently of its origin in the production cycle, require calibration with laboratory-made samples covering the concentration range involved in the manufacturing process, and also production samples from various production batches and different steps, which introduce the variation sources inherent in such a process. A global and sole model was found to determine the active compound during the production cycle, with errors of prediction less than 1.8% in all cases. Tablets can be individually analysed with high accuracy and precision, so a content uniformity analysis may be performed.

Calibration↗
PubMed1998

Metoclopramide enhances labetalol-induced antihypertensive effect during handgrip in hypertensive patients.

The effects of metoclopramide, labetalol, and metoclopramide plus labetalol treatments on baseline cardiovascular parameters and isometric handgrip-induced changes were evaluated in 11 hypertensive subjects. Although all treatments were effective in reducing resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures, the combination of metoclopramide and labetalol appeared to provide a greater decrease (changes in SBP/DBP: 15/11 mm Hg, P < 0.05; from 149 +/- 4/95 +/- 4 mm Hg to 134 +/- 5/84 +/- 3 mm Hg) than did labetalol alone (changes in SBP/DBP: 10/9 mm Hg, P < 0.05; from 149 +/- 4/95 +/- 4 to 139 +/- 4/86 +/- 3 mm Hg). At 2 minutes, handgrip increased blood pressure on placebo (changes in SBP/DBP: 34/7 mm Hg, P < 0. 001). In the presence of metoclopramide and metoclopramide plus labetalol, however, handgrip induced lesser increases in blood pressure (changes in SBP/DBP: 23/7 mm Hg, P < 0.01, and 18/4 mm Hg, P < 0.01, for metoclopramide and metoclopramide plus labetalol treatments). We conclude that (1) metoclopramide lowers blood pressure in hypertensive patients; (2) metoclopramide attenuates blood pressure response to isometric handgrip; and (3) both compounds, labetalol and metoclopramide, seem to have a pharmacologic interaction concerning blood pressure decrease. A clinical significance is suggested for the metoclopramide effect.

Antihypertensive Agents↗
PubMed1998

Attenuated metoclopramide-induced vascular hyperreactivity to cold stress in athletic subjects.

We have previously reported a metoclopramide-induced vascular hyperreactivity to the cold pressor test (CPT) in normotensive and hypertensive subjects. The present study was designed to determine whether the state of physical training influences the cardiovascular responses to the CPT in normotensive subjects under metoclopramide (MTC) treatment. In 20 untrained subjects and 32 athletes (football players and runners), the blood pressure and heart rate responses to the CPT were studied after a 30-minute infusion of MTC (7.5 microg/kg per minute) and two placebo periods, before and after MTC, with 5% glucose solution. Under placebo conditions, the CPT produced significant increases of systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the untrained subjects and the runners, but not in the football players (17.2, 17.8, and 6.5 mm Hg for untrained subjects, runners, and football players, respectively). The runners responded with a lesser increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) during the CPT than did the others (15.8, 17.9, and 18.2 mm Hg for runners, untrained subjects, and football players, respectively). In the presence of MTC, the CPT induced a larger increase in blood pressure (SBP/DBP) in the untrained subjects (21.4/24.1 mm Hg) than in the football players (10/18.7 mm Hg) and runners (18.7/13.9 mm Hg). MTC diminished the hyperreactivity responses to the CPT in the trained subjects (41 and 56% for football players and runners, respectively). Our conclusions are as follows: (1) Vascular responses to cold stress are attenuated in athletic subjects compared with untrained subjects. (2) The metoclopramide-induced vascular hyperreactivity, formerly reported for normotensive and hypertensive subjects, seems to be absent in trained subjects. (3) It is suggested that a probable dopaminergic system adaptation occurs during exercise.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Haemorrhagic septicaemia by Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida in a black-tip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus).

One black-tip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) was found dead without previous signs of disease. Major lesions consisted in cutaneous erythema, mainly at the base of the fins, focal to diffuse inflammatory lesions in gills and intestinal wall, and discrete haemorrhages in the same organs, liver and kidneys. Microcolonies of Gram-negative rods were observed in the lamina propia of gills, underneath the intestinal mucosa and randomly distributed in the renal and hepatic parenchymas. Also, emboli containing Gram-negative rods were observed in capillaries of these organs. Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida was isolated in pure culture from gills, liver and intestine. Specific immunostaining confirmed the relationship between the isolate and lesion-associated bacteria. No previous reports on this infection in sharks have been found in the literature.

Aeromonas↗
PubMed1998

A clinical, pharmacologic, and polysomnographic study of sleep benefit in Parkinson's disease.

We assessed the effect of sleep benefit on motor performance in Parkinson's disease (PD) and analyzed its relation to pharmacologic and sleep measures. The sleep benefit phenomenon-motor improvement after sleep before drug intake-in patients with PD has been addressed by questionnaire studies, but objective data are scarce. Ten PD patients with sleep benefit were pairwisely matched to 10 PD patients without sleep benefit for gender, age, PD symptom duration, and medications. We examined motor performance at night before sleep, during morning baseline state immediately after spontaneous awakening, and continuously after intake of the usual levodopa dose. Plasma levodopa concentrations were measured serially and all-night polysomnography was performed. Between night and morning evaluations, motor state improved slightly in patients with sleep benefit and deteriorated slightly in patients without sleep benefit. The difference between both groups proved to be significant. After levodopa induced "on" state, patients with sleep benefit had more severe interdose "off" than those without. Levodopa concentrations and polysomnographic findings were similar in both conditions, although there was a trend toward more abnormal sleep measures in sleep benefit patients. Sleep benefit is a small but significant phenomenon. It does not clearly relate to a specific sleep variable; however, patients with sleep benefit showed a different response profile to levodopa. Subjective perception or possibly sensory mechanisms could play an additional role in sleep benefit in PD.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

[Children with limb reductions in a population of 25,193 malformed newborns: the recognized causes. ECEMC. The Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations].

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to analyze the causes of limb reduction deficiencies based on a clinical-epidemiological approach and to study the causes by clinical presentation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have used the data from the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC) during the period from 1976 to 1996, which corresponded to more than 1,300,000 births. Among these, we identified 851 liver-born and 40 stillborn infants with limb reduction defects. RESULTS: We could identify the cause in 177 (19.87%) of the 891 cases with limb reduction defects. In the analysis by clinical presentation, in 52.19% of the cases the limb deficiencies were the only defect present in the children (isolated), 30.75% presented multiple congenital anomaly patterns, and 17.06% were syndromes. The most frequent etiology was the genetic one. CONCLUSIONS: First, most of infants with limb deficiencies have unknown cause and these defects are most frequently isolated malformations. On the other hand, the results of this analysis permitted the following considerations in relation to the guidance for the diagnosis of infants with limb reduction defects. If the child presents with multiple congenital anomalies (multiply malformed infant) a chromosomal analysis should be performed and it should be determined if the infant was prenatally exposed to a teratogenic agent. If these two aspects are normal, we should clinically analyze if the infant could have a known syndrome. In addition, since in our data 10.32% of isolated cases were due to autosomal dominant genes, a detailed clinical analysis of close relatives should be done to determine if some of them present mild limb deficiencies in order to provide an adequate information to the family.

Arm↗
PubMed1997

Amelia: analysis of its epidemiological and clinical characteristics.

Eighteen cases of amelia in the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC) were analyzed epidemiologically. Prevalence at birth was 0.15 per 10,000 newborn infants, which is not different from that reported by other authors. Affected females outnumbered males. When compared with the control group, a lower birth weight, shorter gestation, lower placental weight, greater frequency of single umbilical artery, noncephalic presentation at birth, and more frequent maternal vaginal bleeding were observed in amelia cases. There were no significant variations of parental age. None of these patients was exposed to known teratogens, apart from 1 born to a diabetic mother; 3 patients had a genetic condition. Comparison of these variables with other studies is difficult because there is only one study that specifically analyzed amelia. Our data together with previous observations suggest that the genetic basis of amelia might be more important than has been considered previously.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1997

Cellular and subcellular distribution of 7B2 in porcine Merkel cells.

BACKGROUND: Merkel cells are neuroendocrine cells located in the skin and oral mucosa of various mammalian species. These cells express multiple peptides as well as serotonin. Although the precise function of Merkel cells is still unknown, different studies support its role as mechano-electric transducer. 7B2 granin (secretogranin V) is a polypeptide isolated from the pituitary gland and present in the dense-cored granules of neuronal and paraneuronal cells. METHODS: The expression of the 7B2 in Merkel cells of pig snout skin was analysed by immunohistochemical techniques. The streptavidin-biotin peroxidase complex procedure was employed for light microscopy. A postembedding method using immunoglobulin-colloidal gold complexes was employed for the ultrastructural studies. RESULTS: Immunoreactivity for 7B2 was observed in virtually all Merkel cells, both in epidermis and vibrissae. The immunostaining was shown in the basal side of cytoplasms where neuroendocrine granules were accumulated. Immunoelectron microscopy allowed us to demonstrate that 7B2 labelling was located on the electrondense granules. Nuclei and epidermal nerve terminals associated with merkel cells did not show immunoreactivity. CONCLUSIONS: The polypeptide 7B2 is present in the dense-cored granules of Merkel cells. This result is consistent with the possible role for 7B2 in secretory granules' processing. To our knowledge this is the first evidence of 7B2 protein in Merkel cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Colonization antigens of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains isolated from piglets in Spain.

Eighty-eight enterotoxigenic E.coli strains isolated from 69 pigs with enteric infections (diarrhoea or oedema disease) were investigated for the presence of F4 (K88), F5 (K99), F6 (987P) and F41 colonization antigens. The commonest colonization antigen was F6 (987P), which was detected in ETEC strains from 31.9% pigs, followed by F5 (K99) 11.6%, F4 (K88) 10.1% and F41 8.7%. Presence of F6 (987P) and F5 (K99) fimbriae was statistically associated (0.025 > p < 0.005) with diarrhoeic piglets younger than 15 days. F4 (K88) colonization antigen was only expressed by ETEC isolated from piglets older than 15 days. 90.5% of ETEC isolated from 90.0% of piglets younger than 15 days expressed F5 (K99), F6 (987P) or F41 antigens, whereas only 31.3% ETEC isolated from piglets older than 15 days were positive for F4 (K88), F5 (K99), F6 (987P) or F41 antigens (p < 0.001). None of the ETEC pigs with oedema disease produced any of the four colonization antigens. ETEC bearing colonization antigens were associated with particular serogroups and toxic phenotypes, whereas 4P- ETEC strains showed diverse phenotypic characteristics.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Distribution and characterization of faecal verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) isolated from healthy cattle.

Faecal swabs obtained from a random sample of 268 cows and 90 calves on 19 Lugo farms were examined for verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC). We found VTEC on 95% of the farms. The prevalence rates of VTEC infection in asymptomatic cows and calves were estimated to be 35 and 37%, respectively. The proportion of animals infected on each farm ranged from 0 to 100%. VTEC strains isolated from healthy cattle belonged to 27 O serogroups; however, 57% (85 of 149) were of one of 8 serogroups (O2, O8, O22, O77, O82, O105, O113 and O171). Nearly 60% of the bovine VTEC strains belonged to serogroups that cause haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uraemic syndrome in humans. The VTEC were all non-O157:H7; 91% were eae-negative and 86% produced VT2 or VT1 and VT2. These characteristics are different from those of VTEC isolated from calves with diarrhoea.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Determination of water in ferrous lactate by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy with a fibre-optic probe.

Near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy with a fibre-optic probe was used to determine the water content in ferrous lactate dihydrate. Spectra were recorded by immersing the probe in a beaker containing the ferrous lactate sample. Spectral data were processed by using two different multivariate calibration procedures, viz. stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) and partial least-squares regression (PLSR). The results provided by the two calibration procedures were similar and departed by less than 1.5% from the values obtained by Karl Fischer titration.

Ferrous Compounds↗