Repair of a Syphilitic Aneurysm of the Noncoronary Sinus

About one-tenth of patients with untreated chronic syphilis and tertiary syphilis develop structural complications involving the coronary ostia, ascending aorta, or aortic root. We describe a unique case of a large aortic root aneurysm of the noncoronary sinus with extrinsic compression of the right coronary artery, a complication of tertiary syphilis. Surgical intervention involved valve-sparing aortic root reconstruction with right coronary ostia reimplantation (hemi-Yacoub). The patient's postoperative course was uneventful; he is healthy approximately 2 years later.

Exposure assessment of Salmonella spp. in fresh pork meat from two abattoirs in Colombia

Salmonella spp. prevails as the main cause of raw meat foodborne illnesses. Implementation of food safety management systems such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points in swine abattoirs can help to mitigate pathogen exposure. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the HACCP system in slaughterhouses in Colombia on reducing Salmonella spp. exposure due to the consumption of fresh pork meat. Two slaughtering plants with a different degree of HACCP implementation were selected and a quantitative microbiological mapping was built by collecting 820 samples of Salmonella spp. enumeration at different processing stages. The overall Salmonella spp. mean concentration was 1.15 ± 0.55 log MPN/g, with no significant differences among plants (P > 0.05). Deficiencies during carcass disinfection and temperature during distribution of meat cuts from the slaughterhouse lacking of HACCP resulted in a significant increase of Salmonella spp. prevalence (20-40%) (P < 0.05). Processing stages with the highest pathogen prevalence were transport (28-32%) and hanging (16-36%). The exposure assessment model estimated a higher degree of pathogen contamination at the time of consumption in meat cuts from the slaughterhouse without HACCP (3.36 versus 3.68 log MPN/g) and 10-fold increase in the probability a consumer would acquire a contaminated portion (0.011 versus 0.105). Implementation of the HACCP system in swine slaughterhouses represents tangible Salmonella spp. reduction control and public health protection measures.

Actitudes frente al alcohol de los estudiantes de enfermería en dos universidades Latinoamericanas

Objetivo: Comparar las actitudes de los estudiantes de enfermería de dos universidades: una de México y otra de Colombia, respecto al consumo de alcohol, el alcoholismo y los trastornos relacionados al abuso de este. Método: Estudio cuantitativo comparativo transversal. Muestra de 231 estudiantes del último año de la carrera de enfermería en dos universidades públicas latinoamericanas; participantes voluntarios mayores de edad que cursaron al menos 6 asignaturas práctico-teóricas, a quienes se les aplicó el instrumento Escala de Actitudes Frente al Alcohol, el Alcoholismo y la persona con trastornos relacionados al uso del alcohol- EAFAA, así como una encuesta sociodemográfica y académica. Se utilizó SPSS 22 y Microsoft Excel® para el análisis estadístico y se tuvieron en cuenta los principios bioéticos. Resultados: La percepción de los estudiantes respecto a las personas con trastornos relacionados al uso de alcohol (p=0.003), es diferente según la universidad, lo cual conlleva una visión distinta con relación a su fuerza de voluntad, competencia de autocuidado, entre otras características. Asimismo, se determinó que la formación brinda herramientas al estudiante para afrontar situaciones de miedo, inseguridad, frustración, que favorecen un mejor cuidado (p=0.045). Conclusiones: La presente investigación aporta al conocimiento de enfermería, ya que muestra en qué dimensiones la actitud puede afectar el trato brindado al paciente y cómo esta relación puede mejorarse a través de la formación en el área y de experiencias exitosas.

The effects of modulating eNOS activity and coupling in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)

The in vivo role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) uncoupling mediating oxidative stress in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury has not been well established. In vitro, eNOS coupling refers to the reduction of molecular oxygen to L-arginine oxidation and generation of L-citrulline and nitric oxide NO synthesis in the presence of an essential cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4)). Whereas uncoupled eNOS refers to that the electron transfer becomes uncoupled to L-arginine oxidation and superoxide is generated when the dihydrobiopterin (BH(2)) to BH(4) ratio is increased. Superoxide is subsequently converted to hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). We tested the hypothesis that promoting eNOS coupling or attenuating uncoupling after I/R would decrease H(2)O(2)/increase NO release in blood and restore postreperfused cardiac function. We combined BH(4) or BH(2) with eNOS activity enhancer, protein kinase C epsilon (PKC ε) activator, or eNOS activity reducer, PKC ε inhibitor, in isolated rat hearts (ex vivo) and femoral arteries/veins (in vivo) subjected to I(20 min)/R(45 min). When given during reperfusion, PKC ε activator combined with BH(4), not BH(2), significantly restored postreperfused cardiac function and decreased leukocyte infiltration (p < 0.01) while increasing NO (p < 0.05) and reducing H(2)O(2) (p < 0.01) release in femoral I/R veins. These results provide indirect evidence suggesting that PKC ε activator combined with BH(4) enhances coupled eNOS activity, whereas it enhanced uncoupled eNOS activity when combined with BH(2). By contrast, the cardioprotective and anti-oxidative effects of the PKC ε inhibitor were unaffected by BH(4) or BH(2) suggesting that inhibition of eNOS uncoupling during reperfusion following sustained ischemia may be an important mechanism.

[Tyrosine-protein kinase activity in breast neoplasm. Comparison with activity obtained in benign diseases and in normal tissues]

Tyrosine protein kinase (TPK) activity is associated to malignant cellular transformation. This work compares TPK activity in 27 surgical biopsy samples of mammary carcinoma, 10 samples of fibroadenomas, 13 samples of fibrocystic breast disease and 27 samples of normal mammary tissue. TPK activity was determined in tissue homogenates using (Val5) angiotensin II as exogenous substrate. In samples of mammary carcinoma, TPK activity was 33.86 +/- 31.98 pmol P32/mg protein/30 min. This value was significantly higher that those observed in fibrocystic disease (3.92 +/- 2.35), fibroadenomas (13.86 +/- 10.9) and normal tissue (3.56 +/- 3.02).