The parotid saliva of the alpaca (Lama pacos).
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C Ortiz.
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More than 500,000 new medical articles are published every year and available time to keep updated is scarcer every day. Nowadays, the task of selecting useful, consistent, and relevant information for clinicians is a priority in many major medical journals. This review has the aim of gathering the results of the most important findings in clinical medicine in the last few years. It is focused on results from randomized clinical trials and well-designed observational research. Findings were included preferentially if they showed solid results, and we avoided as much as possible including only preliminary data, or results that included only non-clinical outcomes. Some of the most relevant findings reported here include the significant benefit of statins in patients with coronary artery disease even with mean cholesterol level. It also provides a substantial review of the most significant trials assessing the effectiveness of IIb/IIIa receptor blockers. In gastroenterology many advances have been made in the H. pylori eradication, and the finding that the cure of H. pylori infection may be followed by gastroesophageal reflux disease. Some new antivirals have shown encouraging results in patients with chronic hepatitis. In the infectious disease arena, the late breaking trials in anti-retroviral disease are discussed, as well as the new trends regarding antibiotic resistance. This review approaches also the role of leukotriene modifiers in the treatment of asthma and discusses the benefit of using methylprednisolone in patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome, among many other advances in internal medicine.
The spread and risk factors for HIV infection were studied in 288 men and 95 women at the prisons of Carabanchel and Yeserias, Madrid. These men and women requested care at the AIDS prevention program in the jails of Madrid, from April to December 1987. Among the men studied at Carabanchel, 55% were positive to HIV (77% seropositivity among intravenous drug users, IVDU). Tattooing (OR = 2.8), and number of times in prison (OR = 4.5 comparing those who had been 8 or more times in prison with those who had been in prison only once) were independent risk factors for infection, after controlling for IVDU. No association was found between seropositive status to HIV and reported anal intercourse. Among the women studied at Yeserias, the proportion of HIV seropositive women was 26% (70% of the IVDUs were seropositive). Tattooing, number of times in prison, history of prostitution and history of syphilis were associated with HIV infection. When controlling for IVDU, number of times in prison and history of prostitution were not independent risk factors for infection. These data indicate that there is a need for control measures to avoid further spread of the HIV infection among the inmate population, in particular through the use of contaminated needles while in prison.
Two new methoxychalcones, kukulkanins A (2',4'-dihydroxy-3',4-dimethoxychalcone) and B (2',4',4-trihydroxy-3'-methoxychalcone), were isolated by flash chromatography of extracts of small branches of Mimosa tenuefolia. The compounds were identified using ir, nmr, uv, and mass spectroscopy, and their structures were confirmed by X-ray crystallography.
A hydrogel containing vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) was prepared by free radical polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and alpha-tocopheryl methacrylate (VEMA), the latter being synthesized previously to its use. The hydrogel containing 20 wt % of VEMA showed equilibrium water content in the range of those of hydrogel networks, at any pH. The swelling of the hydrogel followed Fick's law, indicating that sorption of water molecules is controlled by diffusion, although the values of diffusion coefficients for the VEMA-containing hydrogel were lower than those of poly-HEMA in any medium. Surface characterization of the VEMA-containing hydrogel revealed a decrease in the surface energy of solid owing to a decrease of the polar component mainly. The application of finely powdered xerogel of HEMA-VEMA copolymer bearing 20 wt % of the vitamin E derivative gave a very fast and positive response showing an activated regeneration capacity, probably due to the stimulation of the cellular proliferation or the more plausible effect, the cellular protection associated to the antioxidant properties of the vitamin E residue.
UNLABELLED: Nutritional support in the critically ill patient is an important mainstay within the specialty of intensive care medicine. Patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are usually hypercatabolic and require an adequate nutritional support. Usually, the intensive care physician prescribes nutrition type, its amount, and follow-up of patients; however, the qualification of these physicians regarding clinical nutrition is unknown. OBJECTIVE: to investigate the degree of knowledge on artificial nutrition and the interest on nutrition of intensive care physicians. METHODOLOGY: a prospective survey was done on 60 intensive care physicians from three public hospitals of Asunción (22 staff physicians and 38 internal residents), with a mean age of 34 +/- 6 years, and a mean professional practice of 5.8 +/- 6 years. The survey contained 10 questions and multiple-choice answers to determine the degree of knowledge depending on the grade obtained, and 5 questions on personal training and attitude towards nutritional support in the ICU. RESULTS: 98.3% of surveyed physicians considered that nutritional support of the ICU-admitted patient has an effect on morbidity and mortality of patients. Nevertheless, 88.3% of physicians considered their nutritional training in the ICU as insufficient. Seventy percent do not usually read papers on nutrition on scientific journals. Only 25% of them formulate parenteral nutrition, and 30% have attended a course on nutrition in the ICU within the last 5 years. The final grade for the 10 questions, the maximum grade possible being 10, was 6.1 +/- 1.9 for staff physicians, and 5.59 +/- 2.3 for internal residents (p = 0.3). When analyzing the correct answers by years of practice, the mean grade was 5.2 +/- 2.3 in those with less than 2 years of practice versus 6.4 +/- 1.7 in those with more than 2 years of practice (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: nutritional training in intensive care medicine is incomplete and the degree of knowledge on nutrition in the critically ill patient is insufficient, being lower in physicians with a limited practice in the ICU. These results suggest the urgent need for training on clinical nutrition of intensive care physicians for the care of the critically ill patient being complete.
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