RESUMEN

Evidence of the ecological and biological impact of pharmaceuticals in surface waters on aquatic organisms is increasing. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid analgesic used to treat chronic and acute pain. To investigate its long-term effects at environmentally relevant levels, we evaluated heart rate (HR) and locomotion of signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus during a 21-day exposure to 1 µg L-1 tramadol followed by 14 days depuration. Locomotion and HR were recorded over a period 30 min before and 30 min after exposure to physiological fluids of an injured conspecific, a natural stressor, four times during the tramadol exposure and four times during depuration. A significant increase in HR following stress induction was found in the majority of tramadol-exposed and control crayfish, as well as significant group-specific HR changes between both groups. Locomotor activity during tramadol treatment differed from that during depuration, in general showing less time spent in locomotion and lower distance moved. The tramadol exposed crayfish exhibited higher velocity during depuration than during the exposure period. Results may suggest a potential shift in prey-predator relationships.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Environmental pollution by pharmaceutically active compounds, used in quantities similar to those of pesticides and other organic micropollutants, is increasingly recognized as a major threat to the aquatic environment. These compounds are only partly removed from wastewaters and, despite their low concentrations, directly and indirectly affect behaviour of freshwater organisms in natural habitats. The aim of this study was to behaviourally assess the effects of an opioid painkiller (tramadol) and antidepressant drug (citalopram) on behaviour patterns of a clonal model species, marbled crayfish. Animals exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of both tested compounds (∼1 µg l-1) exhibited significantly lower velocity and shorter distance moved than controls. Crayfish exposed to tramadol spent more time in shelters. Results were obtained by a simple and rapid method recommended as suitable for assessment of behaviour in aquatic organisms exposed to single pollutants and combinations.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The crayfish plague pathogen, Aphanomyces astaci, is one of the most serious threats to indigenous European crayfish species. The North American invasive spiny-cheek crayfish, Orconectes limosus, is an important source of this pathogen in central and western Europe. We evaluated potential changes in A. astaci spore release rate from infected individuals of this species by experiments investigating the pathogen transmission to susceptible noble crayfish, Astacus astacus. We filtered defined volumes of water regularly to quantify spore concentration, and sampled crayfish tissues at the end of the experiment. The filters and tissues were then tested for the presence of A. astaci DNA by species-specific quantitative PCR. Additionally, we tested the efficiency of horizontal transmission to apparently uninfected O. limosus. The experiments confirmed that A. astaci can be transmitted to susceptible crayfish during intermoult periods, and that the pathogen was more frequently detected in noble crayfish recipients than in American ones. The pathogen spore concentrations substantially varied in time, and significantly increased during moulting of infected hosts. Our study strengthens the evidence that although the likelihood of crayfish plague transmission by water transfer from localities with infected American crayfish might increase when these are moulting or dying, no time-periods can be proclaimed safe.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has the propensity to affect non-lymphoid tissue including oral tissue. Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the mandible mistreated as chronic periodontitis with diffuse enlargement of the mandibular canal and ice-cold numbness is very rarely described in English medical literature. A 57-year-old patient presented with a painful swelling on the left side of the mandible with a clinically chronic periodontitis associated with ice-cold numbness. A panoramic radiograph showed a diffuse uniform enlargement of the mandibular canal. Histological examination showed that the lesion was a primary intraosseous non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the mandible. Immunohistochemical examination showed a positive reaction for CD20+, Ki-67+. Seven months after chemotherapy the patient was observed for possible life-threatening propagation of the disease. In conclusion, primary (extra-nodal) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the mandible usually clinically presents with bone swelling, teeth mobility and neurological disturbance. Radiographic features presenting as diffuse enlargement of the mandibular canal could be considered as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The North American spiny-cheek crayfish, Orconectes limosus (Cambaridae), endangered in its native range, is a widespread invasive species in European waters and conservationally important carrier of crayfish plague. However, its population structure is poorly known, and no informative genetic markers for the species are available. We tested cross-species transfer of microsatellite loci to spiny-cheek crayfish from 5 other crayfish species. Variability of 10 successfully amplifying loci derived from 4 species was then tested in 60 individuals of O. limosus originating from 3 natural populations: the river Danube at Bogyiszló in Hungary, a pond in Starý Klíèov, and the brook Eernovický, both in the Czech Republic. The allele number within the populations ranged from 4 to 10 alleles per locus, while heterozygosity levels varied from 0.650 to 0.900 for H(o) and from 0.660 to 0.890 for H(e). No linkage disequilibrium and no null alleles were detected. The selected markers are useful for assessing population structure, intraspecific variation, and paternity studies in spiny-cheek crayfish.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The objective of the present study was to investigate the rate of decline in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in residents (1985-1994) and in refugees and displaced persons (1992-1994) during prewar and war periods (1985-1994) in the region of Zagreb, Croatia, and to examine a possible change in the trend of decline in the resident population. Data on the incidence of TB were obtained from the Epidemiology Department, Institute for Lung Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia. The sample comprised two groups of subjects: residents (800,000-1,000,000 inhabitants) and all refugees and displaced persons temporarily residing in the Zagreb region (78,000-95,000 persons). Data were analysed by stepwise logistic regression. The most significant predictors of the TB incidence rate were the square of the year and residence status. The rate of TB incidence in nonresidents was significantly higher than in residents. The decline in incidence in residents was significantly slower than in the nonresident group. The results did not indicate a potential change in the natural decline of the incidence of tuberculosis in the resident population during the study periods. The difference between the regression trends of the incidence of tuberculosis in residents and nonresidents was the result of various concomitant factors, including artefacts of the war.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Patients' education belongs to the most efficient therapeutic measures in the management of asthma, chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema. The following paper reports the experience in the educational programme at the Polyclinic for Respiratory Diseases in Zagreb. Each patient's education lasted 5 days, 3 lessons per day, in groups of 10-15 persons. The education was carried out by a teaching team consisting of pulmonologists, psychosomatologist, pharmacist, physiotherapist and biometeterologist. From March 1995 to February 1996 135 persons completed the educational programme, 65 of whom were asthma patients. Data on cough and dyspnoea, skills in inhaler and breathing technique were collected at the beginning and 3 months after the education in all asthma patients. Three months after the education the asthma patients showed a significant decrease in dyspnoea and a significant improvement in inhaler and breathing technique. A standard questionnaire was given to all patients at the end of the education and in more than 80% the education was well accepted by the patients. Initial results are encouraging and the programme should be expanded to all parts of Croatia.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Case histories of 3 patients with primary mucociliary transport failure are described. Two of them had immotile cilia syndrome and one cystic fibrosis. In all three patients the same clinical picture was found and they had the same treatment, although the etiology of diseases was not the same. The treatment in two patients was not much successful since they had associated respiratory failure.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The growth patterns in girls ten to 16 years of age with idiopathic structural scoliosis are different from the growth patterns of normal girls of the same age group. Overall standing and sitting heights were 5 cm and 2 cm greater, respectively, in 207 scoliotic as compared with 210 randomly selected, age-matched healthy girls. Hand and wrist radiographs revealed an advanced skeletal age in scoliotic girls at ten years of age, whereas subsequent skeletal development was more rapid in healthy girls.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)