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The author offers his views on how influenza has gone through human history, viruses responsible for it, and vaccines available in the market.

The article presents information related to clinical investigations in public hospitals. It is noted that corresponding practice is improved through clinical investigation that undoubtedly achieved bioethical and biosecurity rules. It is stated that the adoption of appropriate decisions is facilitated with contribution to the design of based politics related with the healthcare system.

A letter to the editor is presented concerning an article on doubts and facts regarding primary care oriented PBL curricula.

A letter to the editor is presented related to electric power failure in a classroom which led to the use of traditional teaching tools such as a blackboard and chalk.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article about Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum.

Inactivation of antinutritional factors on an Argentinian deffated soy flour was evaluated in relation to its corresponding original soybeans. Residual urease and trypsin inhibitors activities, protein solubility, available lysine and phytic acid showed acceptable levels. The nutritional value of a diet based on the same soy flour was compared with that of a casein-based diet by allowing them to each one of two groups of weanling IIMBeta rats during 28 days. Non-significant differences were obtained between groups comparing both body weight gain per gram of protein intake as well as the results of histometric studies performed on the small intestine. Thus, this soy flour contained appropriately inactivated antinutritional factors and its protein content and quality were nutritionally suitable. Large intestine hypertrophy was revealed within the soy-fed group suggesting increased microbial proliferation attributable to non-digestible oligosaccharides and fiber-like compounds. These compounds, employed by gut microflora as fermentation substrates, would be also responsible for an increased nitrogen excretion in the soy-fed group in relation to controls. This increment of nitrogen excretion significantly lowered the value of apparent nitrogen digestibility in the soy-fed group in relation to the casein-fed control one. Nevertheless, nitrogen apparent digestibility in the soy-fed group was equal or higher than other values reported from distinct treated soy meal-based diets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article on medical career and medical education of women in Argentina.

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the chronic complications in Diabetes Mellitus. It constitutes the mean cause of blindness in the Western world and is related with microcirculatory changes. In its physiopathogeny, we propose the participation of key hemorheologic parameters as fibrinogenemia (determined by the Clauss method) and/or erythrocyte aggregation (quantified through ASP -Aggregate Shape Parameter-). The obtained results: (1) confirm the presence and relevance of retinopathy as a chronic complication in type 2 diabetic patients; (2) identify to fibrinogenemia as taking part in its genesis and as an indicator for the detection of possible ocular lesions and, moreover, corroborate the pertinence of 295 mg% as an adequate cut off for this variable; (3) add, in this regard, a still lower value (285 mg%); (4) diminish the role of erythrocyte aggregation in the origin of ocular lesions; (4) emphasize, in contrast, the relevance of fibrinogenemia and erythrocyte aggregation in diabetic patients with simultaneous microangiopathic proliferative ocular and skin lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The development of diabetic microangiopathy may produce lesions in distinct organic territories (the skin, among others). With an intention of identifying hemorheologic variables for a better characterization of diabetic patients, we studied plasmatic and blood viscosities (P Visc at 2.30 s−1 and B Visc at 4.60 and 230 s−1), fibrinogenemia, and erythrocytic aggregation in 40 type 2 diabetic patients (13 with microangiopathic skin lesions and 27 without) and in 30 healthy controls. Considering its alterations in diabetic patients and applying linear discriminant analysis, two models may be characterized: (a) discriminant function (Disc F)=0.58 aggregate shape parameter (ASP)−0.61 B Visc230+0.89 fibrinogenemia for discriminating healthy individuals from diabetic patients with microangiopathic skin lesions and (b) Disc F=6.325 ASP−0.347 B Visc230+0.013 fibrinogenemia for discriminating healthy controls from diabetic patients with and without microangiopathic skin lesions. Both models appear to be valid due to the following: (a) Model 1: a coefficient of canonic correlation of 0.924, a highly significant Mahalanobis distance (P<10−3), a correct percentage of classification (100%), and the centroids of each group (0.94 and 5.63); (b) Model 2: a coefficient of canonic correlation of 0.898, a highly significant Mahalanobis distance (P<10−3), a correct percentage of classification (85.7%), and the centroids of each group (−1.9, 1.9, and 2.4). Just as the alterations in the analyzed hemorheologic variables could be suggesting their possible involvement in the physiopathogenia of diabetic microangiopathic skin lesions, the proposed models could characterize a microcirculatory profile in diabetic patients for preventing irreversible damages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]