Search

Multidimensional data is systematically analysed at multiple granularities by applying aggregate and disaggregate operators (e.g., by the use of OLAP tools). For instance, in a supermarket we may want to predict sales of tomatoes for next week, but we may also be interested in predicting sales for all vegetables (higher up in the product hierarchy) for next Friday (lower down in the time dimension). While the domain and data are the same, the operating context is different. We explore several approaches for multidimensional data when predictions have to be made at different levels (or contexts) of aggregation. One method relies on the same resolution, another approach aggregates predictions bottom-up, a third approach disaggregates predictions top-down and a final technique corrects predictions using the relation between levels. We show how these strategies behave when the resolution context changes, using several machine learning techniques in four application domains., This work was supported by the Spanish MINECO under grants TIN 2010-21062-C02-02 and TIN 2013-45732-C4-1-P, and the REFRAME project, granted by the European Coordinated Research on Longterm Challenges in Information and Communication Sciences Technologies ERA-Net (CHIST-ERA), and funded by MINECO in Spain (PCIN-2013-037) and by Generalitat Valenciana PROMETEOII2015/013.

Frosty pod rot (FPR), caused by Moniliophthora roreri, and black pod (BP), caused by Phytophthora spp., of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) cause combined pod losses of more than 80% in Panama. Biological control of both diseases appeared promising in Peru and is desired by certified organic producers in Panama. We evaluated both local and Peruvian fungal antagonists in participatory trials on smallholdings during two complete production cycles. Furthermore, we tested the influence of a 3% v/v cane molasses amendment on biocontrol efficacy, yield and population dynamics of mycoparasites on the cocoa pod. Significant variation was observed between the two years: FPR was more severe in the first year, BP in the second. FPR was significantly reduced by biocontrol agents (BCAs), but not by the molasses amendment. However, BCAs responded differently to molasses in both years. All BCAs reduced inoculum production by M. roreri with no consistent effect of molasses. BCAs had a lesser and more variable effect on BP, whereas molasses reduced BP slightly by increasing the efficacy of native antagonists. All BCAs and the molasses amendment enhanced the percentage of healthy pods. Molasses was beneficial to absolute yield, but only one inoculum improved yield significantly in the first year. Populations of a Peruvian Trichoderma asperellum isolate remained high for over two months after application to surface-sterilized pods. Molasses had no effect on establishment or survival of this antagonist or recolonization by any native mycoparasite. The reasons for enhanced biocontrol efficacy of the molasses formulation requires further investigation.

En la presente disertación se realiza un análisis de los fenómenos de violencia que se experimentan en el departamento de Risaralda y su capital Pereira. La reflexión planteada se construye a la luz de una mirada histórica, una caracterización de la violencia y algunas de sus explicaciones causales, una reflexión realizada tomando como referencia el territorio y sus múltiples escenarios que conjugan cruces de actores, intereses y dominios territoriales, un proceso migratorio por violencia que materializa las secuelas del conflicto y una mirada local que reconoce en las sociedades globalizadas, nuevos escenarios de conflictos no regulados por el Estado-Nación. El análisis realizado, permite reconocer las lógicas territoriales de control y dominio, conjuga explicaciones estructurales que manifiestan continuidades y discontinuidades que afectan de manera diferenciada a la población del departamento. La reflexión permite reconocer nuevas preguntas que podrían orientar futuras investigaciones en la región.

This dissertation tries to make an analysis about phenomenons of violence in the region of Risaralda and your capital Pereira. The established reflection is made by means of a historical view, a violence characterization and some of your causal explanations, a reflection where the main reference is the territory and your manifold scenes that conjugate actors crossing, interests and territorial dominions, besides, a migratory process by violence (displacement by violence) that materializes the sequels of conflict, and finally, by means of a local view that recognizes in the globalized societies, new non regulated scenes of conflict by the state-nation. This analysis permits to recognize the territorial topics of control and dominion and it identifies some of the structural explanations that show continuities and discontinuities that have an effect on population of the region in a differentiated way. The reflection provokes new questions to guide next investigations in the region.

The Ebola epidemic exemplifies the importance of social determinants of health: poverty and illiteracy, among others.

The knowledge of the distribution, area, and current conservation status of relict natural grasslands dominated by the tall-tussock grass Paspalum quadrifarium Lam. (“pajonal”) in the Flooding Pampa (Argentina) is relevant for the identification of conservation sites and sustainable management and land-use planning. Since European settlement, vast areas of pajonal were converted to croplands and short-grass prairies. The only available vegetation map of these grasslands was made in the mid-20th century. We evaluated 2 methods of land-cover classification (supervised and unsupervised) using a Landsat TM satellite image over an area of 2 258.21 km 2 in Ayacucho county, where pajonal still persists as an important ecosystem. At the paddock scale, this grassland community presents a complex structure in which the pajonal is not a pure category but a mosaic of tall and short grasses. Six categories of land cover were adopted (crops, sown pastures, short grasses, pajonal, wetlands, and urban areas). A very good overall accuracy was obtained for both classifications (86.9% and 87.9% for supervised and unsupervised classifications, respectively). However, both producer's and user's accuracies for the pajonal and short grasses were better for the unsupervised classification than for the supervised classification. The pajonal class occupied only 20% of the study area with patch size ranging between 0.09 and 1 653 ha. This work suggests an important replacement of tall-tussock grass by short-grass matrix, which represents noticeable structural and functional changes. The unsupervised classification of Landsat image seems a particularly suitable method for mapping complex vegetation units like the highly fragmented pajonal of the Flooding Pampa and should be an important tool for management and tracking future changes.

Encystation and excystation of Acanthamoeba castellanii were studied by transmission electron microscopy. The differentiation process was induced in asynchronous cultures grown axenically. Cytoplasmic vesicles containing a dense fibrous material very similar in appearance to the cyst wall were observed in trophozoites induced to encyst. When these trophozoites were incubated with calcofluor white m2r, fluorescence was observed in cytoplasmic vesicles, suggesting that the material contained in these vesicles corresponded to cyst wall precursors. Semithin cryosections of mature cysts with the same treatment showed fluorescence in the ectocyst and a less intense fluorescence in the endocyst, suggesting the presence of cellulose in both structures of the cyst wall. In mature cysts induced to excystation, small structures very similar to electron-dense granules (EDG) previously described in other amoebae were frequently observed. The EDGs were either sparsely distributed in the cytoplasm or associated with the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane. Many of them were located near the ostiole. In advanced phases of excystation, endocytic activity was suggested by the formation of endocytic structures and the presence of vacuoles with fibrous content similar to that of the cyst wall. Electron-dense granules in the process of dissolution were also observed in these vacuoles. Furthermore, the formation of a pseudopod suggests a displacement of the amoeba toward the ostiole.

Liver transplantation is being evaluated as a therapeutic option for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with end-stage liver disease, but experience is still scarce. We describe the outcome of 4 HIV-infected patients who underwent liver transplantation in our hospital between July 2002 and April 2003. HIV-infected liver transplant recipients meet the same standard criteria for transplantation as do HIV-negative candidates. In addition, HIV infected persons are required to have a CD4 T-cell count greater than 100/mL (CD4 T-cells are targets for HIV infection). Immunosuppressive regimens, perioperative surgical prophylaxis, and prophylaxis for opportunistic infections are standard in the Liver Transplantation Unit in our hospital. Four patients, including 3 former intravenous drug users, received a liver transplant (2 from deceased donors and 2 from living donors), with a median follow-up of 510 days. Three patients (75%) are alive, with 1 death occurring 17 months posttransplantation in a patient who developed fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis. Rejection occurred in 1 patient, and was managed with no complications. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence occurred in 3 patients. HIV-infection has remained under control with antiretroviral treatment. A combination of 3 nucleoside analogs was used in 3 patients, with no need for drug adjustments. No opportunistic infections or other significant infectious complications developed. In conclusion, orthotopic liver transplantation seems a safe therapeutic option in the short term for HIV-infected persons with end stage liver disease, including patients with a history of drug abuse. If indicated, an antiretroviral regimen consisting of 3 nucleosides could be used to avoid interactions with immunosuppressive drugs. (Liver Transpl 2005;11:76–81.)

Although indoor localization is a key topic for mobile computing, it is still very difficult for the mobile sensing community to compare state-of-art localization algorithms due to the scarcity of databases. Thus, a multi-building and multi-floor localization database based on WLAN fingerprinting is presented in this work, being its public access granted for the research community. The here proposed database not only is the biggest database in the literature but it is also the first publicly available database. Among other comprehensively described features, full raw information taken by more than 20 users and by means of 25 devices is provided.

In order to assess the mortality and toxicity of the Hyper-CVAD protocol used as first-line treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a retrospective cohort study was performed in patients less than 40 years of age from March to September 2011 treated with Hyper-CVAD regimen. Mortality and toxicity was compared with the results of patients treated with the institutional HGMLAL07 regimen between 2009-2012. 18 patients were included; the median age was 26 years old. Complete remissions (67.7% versus 81.9%) as well as one-year (40% versus 62%) and 2 year survival rates (18% versus 34%) were lower with the Hyper-CVAD regimen. By selecting only patients younger than 35 years, the effectiveness of Hyper-CVAD was also lower. In our experience and because of its high cost and toxicity, the Hyper-CVAD regimen should be limited to patients with relapsed or refractory leukemia.

Recently it has been reported a benefit effect with the use of metformin in patients with malignant disease. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of adding metformin to chemotherapy regimen over the percentage of early relapse in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.A prospective, longitudinal and experimental study was performed in patients with de novo acute lymphoblastic leukemia enrolled in the Hospital General de México. They were divided in two groups: first group received chemotherapy + metformin (850 mg three times a day); second group only received standard chemotherapy. The sample was randomized 3:1 in favor of the second group.93 patients were included (73 treated with chemotherapy + metformin and 20 received standard chemotherapy), with 303 ± 53 days of follow-up. Complete remission was higher in the group without metformin (81.3 % [n = 61] versus 70 % [n = 14]), which also presented more patients with relapse (47.9 % versus 25 %). Overall survival at one year was of 68 % and free survival disease was 64 %, without significant differences between groups. Absence of metformin was the only variable of adverse prognostic considered significant (p = 0.55). Cox regression showed that adding metfomin reduced 56 % the risk of relapse.The adding metformin to the treatment of leukemias showed that was useful in our research. However, randomized and double-blind studies must be designed in order to express final recommendations about its use.INTRODUCCIÓN: se ha informado efecto benéfico con metformina en pacientes con cáncer. El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar el efecto de adicionar metformina a la quimioterapia sobre las recaídas tempranas en pacientes con leucemia linfoblástica aguda. MÉTODOS: estudio prospectivo, longitudinal y experimental de pacientes portadores de leucemia linfoblástica aguda de novo, realizado en el Hospital General de Mexico. La muestra fue dividida en dos brazos de tratamiento: uno recibió metformina (850 mg cada ocho horas) + quimioterapia; otro recibió únicamente quimioterapia estándar. La distribución de los pacientes fue aleatoria, 3:1 a favor del segundo brazo.se incluyeron 93 pacientes (73 recibieron quimioterapia + metformina y 20, quimioterapia estándar); el seguimiento fue de 303 ± 53 días. La remisión completa fue mayor en el grupo sin metformina comparado con el que recibió quimioterapia + metformina (81.3 % [n = 61] y 70 % [n = 14], respectivamente), al igual que las recaídas (47.9 y 25 %, respectivamente). La supervivencia global a un año fue de 68 % y la supervivencia libre de la enfermedad fue de 64 %, sin diferencias entre los grupos. La única variable de pronóstico adverso con relevancia significativa fue la ausencia de metformina (p = 0.55). La regresión de Cox demostró que adicionarla redujo 56 % el riesgo de recaída.la adición de metformina al tratamiento de la leucemia fue de utilidad en nuestra investigación, sin embargo, deberán diseñarse estudios aleatorizados y doble ciego para emitir recomendaciones definitivas.

In 2009, 17.9 % of hospital morbidity by malignant tumors in México corresponded to hematological malignancies, mainly acute leukemia. Some studies suggest a seasonal pattern, since most of the cases are registered during summer. Our objective was to estimate the relationship between the different subtypes of acute leukemia with the age when the disease arose, and the season of the year.Retrospective and observational study, based on records of a hematology department from January 2006 to April 2012. Only the patients diagnosed with de novo acute leukemia, stratified according to the French-American-British classification, were included. Seasonal analysis was performed using Edward's periodic model.The study included 833 acute leukemia cases: 48 % of women (400), and 52 % of men (433). Median age was 36.2 ± 19.8 years. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia predominated over acute myeloblastic leukemia subtype M4 (p0.05), and we found differences (p0.01) between lymphoblastic and myeloblastic leukemias: 32.3 and 41.8. Despite the existence of pronounced peaks in the time series, they did not repeat periodically.The most common variety of acute leukemia was lymphoblastic type L2, followed by myeloblastic type M4. People over 40 years of age were the most affected. A seasonal pattern of acute leukemias was not observed.INTRODUCCIÓN: en 2009, 17.9 % de la morbilidad hospitalaria por tumores malignos en México correspondió a neoplasias hematooncológicas, principalmente a leucemias agudas. Algunos estudios sugieren un patrón estacional al presentarse más casos durante el verano. El objetivo de esta investigación fue estimar la relación entre los diferentes subtipos de leucemia aguda, la edad de presentación y la estación del año. MÉTODOS: estudio retrospectivo, observacional, que se llevó a cabo con los registros de enero de 2006 a abril de 2012 en un servicio de hematología; se incluyeron únicamente los pacientes con diagnósticos de novo de leucemia aguda, estratificada según la clasificación de la Asociación Franco-Américo-Británica. El análisis de temporalidad se realizó con el modelo periódico de Edward.de los 833 casos de leucemia aguda, 48 % correspondió al sexo femenino y 52 % al masculino; la edad media fue de 36.2 ± 19.8 años. Predominó la leucemia aguda linfoblástica sobre la mieloblástica subtipo M4 (p0.05) y se encontraron diferencias (p0.01) entre la linfoblástica y la mieloblástica: 32.3 y 41.8. A pesar de existir picos pronunciados en la serie temporal, no se repitieron periódicamente.la variedad más frecuente fue la L2, seguida por la M4. El grupo de edad más afectado fue el de los mayores de 40 años. No existió patrón estacional de presentación de las leucemias agudas.

The free living amoeba Naegleria fowleri is pathogenic to humans but also to other mammalians. These amoebae may invade the nasal mucosa and migrate into the brain causing cerebral hemorrhagic necrosis, a rapidly fatal infection. Knowledge of the cytolytic mechanism involved in the destruction of brain tissues by Naegleria trophozoites is limited. In other amoebic species, such as Entamoeba histolytica, we have previously reported the possible lytic role of small cytoplasmic components endowed with proteolytic activities, known as electrondense granules (EDG). Using transmission electron microscopy we now report that EDG, seldom found in long term cultured N. fowleri, are present in abundance in trophozoites recovered from experimental mice brain lesions. Numerous EDG were also observed in amoebae incubated with collagen substrates or cultured epithelial cells. SDS-PAGE assays of concentrated supernatants of these trophozoites, containing EDG, revealed proteolytic activities. These results suggest that EDG may have a clear role in the cytopathic mechanisms of this pathogenic amoeba.

"Se resume la experiencia “en carne propia” de una de las grandes autoridades médicas de los Estados Unidos al sufrir un gravísimo accidente casero. Se comentan las excelencias de los cuidados intensivos en hospitales de tercer nivel, en contraste con la despersonalización y el desinterés que recibió el paciente en otras instituciones médicas. Se realza la importancia de la labor de las enfermeras en la atención al paciente hospitalizado."

"Introducción: la colonización nasal por Staphylcoccus epidermidis y Staphylococcus aureus es frecuente y se ha relacionado con bacteremia en huéspedes inmuno-comprometidos. En la investigación que se presenta, los objetivos fueron determinar la frecuencia de cepas que colonizan la mucosa nasal en pacientes en tratamiento de leucemia aguda y su relación con los cultivos de sangre periférica. Métodos: estudio retrospectivo, observacional, transversal, retrolectivo de cultivos nasales obtenidos durante cuatro semanas. La relación con los hemocultivos se estableció mediante x2 ; se calculó razón de momios. Resultados: se estudiaron 67 casos, en su mayoría con leucemia linfoblástica aguda ( n = 55). De 165 cultivos nasales, 28.5 % fue positivo ( n = 47). Las principales bacterias identi fi cadas fueron Staphylcoccus epidermidisy S taphylococcus aureus . La primerasemana de tratamiento fue el principal momentode aislamiento. Todas las cepas fueron sensibles a vancomicina o linezolid. Se estableció relación entre los cultivos nasales y los hemocultivos negativos( p = 0.0005). La razón de momios para los cultivos nasales positivos respecto a los hemocultivos y el riesgo de bacteremia fue de 0.0269 (IC 95 % = 0.0016, 0.4484). Conclusiones: seaislaronpocasbacteriasen la mucosa nasal, y la sensibilidad de estas a los antibióticos fue adecuada. La presencia de bacterias en la mucosa nasal no fue un factor de riesgo para la aparición de bacteremia."

This paper proposes a semi-supervised approach based on probabilistic relaxation theory. The algorithm performs a consistent multi-class assignment of labels according to the contextual information constraints. We start from a fully connected graph where each initial sample of the input data is a node of the graph and where only a few nodes have been labelled. A local propagation process is then performed by means of a support function where a new compatibility measure has been proposed. Contributions also include a comparative study of a wide variety of data sets with recent and well-known state-of-the-art algorithms for semi-supervised learning. The results have been provided by an analysis of their statistical significance. Our methodology has demonstrated a noticeably better performance in multi-class classification tasks. Experiments will also show that the proposed technique could be especially useful for applications such as hyperspectral image classification. The authors would like to thank Prof. Pelillo for his help on the proof of convergence in Probabilistic Relaxation approaches and also to Dr. Aykut Erdem for his help with the SSL–GTG algorithm. We deeply thank Dr. Pedro Garcia-Sevilla for his help on the calculation of the algorithms complexity. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under the Projects Consolider Ingenio 2010 CSD2007-00018, AYA2008-05965-C04-04/ESP and by Caixa-Castelló foundation under the Project P1 1B2007-48.

INTRODUCTION. The over expresión of the multidrug resistance genes (MDR) specifficaly ABCB1 and ABCG2 correlate with a poor prognosis in patients with ALL. Different drugs specially the chomotherapeutic agents are they substrates. This genes encode a family of different membrane transports that Works with energy specifically the ATP. Metformin is a biguanide whose mechanism of action is the activiation of AMPK and depletes the levels of ATP. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the efficacy of the use of Metformin on the levels of expression of the MDR genes (ABCB1 y ABCG2) by RQ-PCR in ALL cell lines and patients with ALL during a preinduction treatment with prednisone. RESULTS. In vitro study . The ALL cell lines RS4, ReH, MOLT4 and SUB15 were elavluated. After the addition of Metformin (10uM) the expression level of ABCB1, ABCG2 started to decrease after the 24hrs of culture (mean expression level of 0.3823 ABCB1 and 0.4265 of ABCB2) with a máximum effect at 48 hours (0.2415 ABCB1 and 0.3452 ABCB2) The difference of levels were statystically significant (p= 0.0045). In vivo study . About 108 patients were evaluated, 44 (40.7%) in the arm of prednisone and 64 (59.3%) in the arm of prednisone plus metformin. Fort eh subanalysis of the MDR genes by RQ-PCR we select 25 patients (14 in the prednisone arm and 11 in the metformin arm). The mean levels of the genes was 0.1906 for the ABCB1 gene and 0.3371 of the ABDG2. At the moment of diagnosis about 32% were considerer with high level of expression (n=8), 28% (n=7) of low expression and 40% (n=10) do not express any of the both genes. After the treatment with Metformin 4 patients with high expression at diagnosis change the patter for low expression. Although there is no difference in means of the expression of genes in both arms (p = 0.391 , p = 0. 828) in the group of metformin the prognosis in the high expression group was better than in the prednisone arm (p=0.043). Fort he entire cohort the complete remission rate was higher in the Metformin cohort comparing with prednisone (86.4% versus 67.2%) and the refractoriness was higher in the group of prednisone (n=16, 25%) p=0.002. About the relapse, the addition of Metformin reduce the relapse rate ( 6 vs 21 patients, p = 0.027). Conclusion. The addition of metformin in a controlled enviroment reduce the expression of the MDR genes, but in vivo the impact is primarily on the refractory leukemias and the relapse rate Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Hemocytes of 2- to 3-d-old female Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann are described by morphology, cytochemistry, and functional criteria. Supplemented Grace's insect medium in a modified Foley's perfusion method was used to obtain hemolymph from An. albimanus. Morphological analysis indicated 3 types of hemocytes were present, prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, and granular cells. Prohemocytes were small round cells with a high nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio. Plasmatocytes were the most abundant cell types in the hemolymph, and appeared as small to large and spindle-shaped cells with round or elongate nucleus, variable number of vacuoles, small granules, and pseudopodia. Granular cells were small to large and round with a large number of cytoplasmic granules, vacuoles, and numerous filopodia. Ultrastructurally, prohemocytes were undifferentiated with abundant free ribosomes and with few small electron-dense granules. Plasmatocytes were rich in mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, free ribosomes, small electron-dense granules, numerous peripheral vacuoles and with an important organelle polarization. Granular cells contained numerous large electron-dense granular inclusions and vacuoles. Cytochemical studies showed that plasmatocytes and granular cells have cationic bactericidal proteins. Only granular cells showed phenoloxidase and probably lysosomal activities. In vitro functional studies demonstrated that both plasmatocytes and granular cells were able to attach to glass slides, and only plasmatocyte had phagocytic activity and motility. These results characterize the hemocytes of An. albimanus and suggest that plasmatocytes and granular cells may have a role in defense responses to foreign organisms.

Extraintestinal dissemination of Entamoeba histolytica is frequently manifested by the life-threatening amebic liver abscess (ALA). The hepatic establishment of amebas implies invasion of blood vessels and contact with the endothelium. By means of a fluorescence-based quantitative adhesion assay, we assessed the binding to human endothelial cells of two E. histolytica strains of different virulence. The highly virulent strain (L-A) adhered substantially more strongly to unstimulated endothelium than the non-virulent one (BG3). Attachment of L-A was increased by treatment of endothelial cells with interleukin-1 beta (IL1 beta). Other proinflammatory cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) did not modify the spontaneous adhesion capacity of amebas. For purposes of comparison we also performed adhesion of the parasites to skin fibroblasts. Adhesion to this cell type was quite low (< 10%). Parasite virulence, differential adhesive capacity to endothelial cells, and modulation of the latter phenomenon by proinflammatory factors (IL1 beta) may influence the evolution and outcome of extraintestinal amebiasis, especially hepatic abscesses.

lymphoma is the most frequent lymphoid neoplasm in our country. Its diagnosis is based on histopathological findings. The lymph node imprint has been used for more than 40 years. The aim was to establish the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of lymph node imprint and estimate the inter-observer rate.we did an observational, retrospective, prolective study, based on the lymph node imprint obtained by excisional biopsies over a period of 6 years.the inclusion criteria was met on 199 samples, 27.1 % were considered as reactive (n = 54), 16.1 % Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 32), 40.2 % (n = 80) non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 16.6 % (n = 33) as metastatic carcinoma. Comparing with the final histopathology report, the sensitivity and specificity of lymph node imprint were 88 % (0.81-0.95) and 64 % (0.55-0.73) respectively, the positive predictive value was 67 % (0.59-0.76) and the negative predictive value was 86 % (0.79-0.94). The interobserver kappa index was 0.467.the lymph node imprint remains as a useful tool for the diagnosis of lymphoid neoplasm. The agreement between observers was acceptable.Introducción: los linfomas son las neoplasias linfoproliferativas más frecuentes en México. Su diagnóstico se basa en el estudio histopatológico. El análisis morfológico de la impronta del ganglio linfático se ha utilizado desde hace más de 40 años. Los objetivos de esta investigación fueron determinar la sensibilidad, la especificidad y los valores predictivos positivo y negativo de la impronta del ganglio linfático para el diagnóstico del linfoma y estimar el índice interobservador. Métodos: estudio retrospectivo, observacional y prolectivo de las improntas de ganglios linfáticos obtenidas por biopsia durante un periodo de seis años. Resultados: se incluyeron 199 improntas; 27.1 % se consideró reactivo (n = 54), 16.1 % como linfoma Hodgkin (n = 32), 40.2 % (n = 80) como no Hodgkin y 16.6 % (n = 33) como carcinoma metastásico. Al compararlas con los reportes histopatológicos finales, la sensibilidad fue de 88 % (0.81-0.95), la especificidad de 64 % (0.55-0.73), el valor predictivo positivo de 67 % (0.59-0.76) y el negativo, de 86 % (0.79-0.94). La concordancia interobservador fue moderada (índice kappa de 0.467). Conclusiones: el análisis de la impronta del ganglio linfático es útil para el diagnóstico de las neoplasias linfoproliferativas.

To study lines of action implemented in Mexico by the health sector from 2007 to 2012 in order to combat health inequities by targeting social determinants. To contribute to better understanding and knowledge of how health system inequalities in the Region of the Americas can be reduced. To formulate recommendations for designing a future public policy agenda to address the social determinants associated with health inequities in Mexico.The policies and programs established in the National Health Program (PRONASA) 2007 - 2012 were reviewed, and those that met four criteria were selected: i) they affected the social determinants of health (SDH); ii) they developed specific lines of action aimed at reducing health inequities; iii) they set concrete goals; and iv) they had been evaluated to determine whether those goals had been met. Three programs were selected: Seguro Popular, Programa de Desarrollo Humano Oportunidades (PDHO), and Caravanas de la Salud. Once each program's specific lines of action targeting SDH had been identified, the monitoring and evaluation indicators established in PRONASA 2007 - 2012, along with other available evaluations and empirical evidence, were used to measure the extent to which the goals were met.The findings showed that Seguro Popular had had a positive impact in terms of the financial protection of lower-income households. Moreover, the reduction in the gap between workers covered by the social security system and those who were not was more evident. By reducing poverty among its beneficiaries, the PDHO also managed to reduce health inequities. The indicators for Caravanas de la Salud, on the other hand, did not show statistically significant differences between the control localities and the localities covered by the program, except in the case of Pap tests.These findings have important public policy implications for designing an agenda that promotes continued targeting of SDH and heightening its impact in terms of reducing inequities. Guaranteeing the effective exercise of social rights, without socioeconomic, employment, ethnic, or gender-based exclusion, will be key. Action to provide comprehensive, inclusive, equitable, effective, and quality coverage, supported by a preventive and remedial model of primary health care, are recommended. Strategies should be centered on primary health services, because at that level, more comprehensive care focusing on the person rather than the disease can be provided. It will also be necessary to include periodic monitoring and evaluation phases to offer the comprehensive social protection system scientific armor and guarantee its effectiveness.

"Introducción: los linfomas son las neoplasias linfo- Resumen proliferativas más frecuentes en México. Su diagnóstico se basa en el estudio histopatológico. El análisis morfológico de la impronta del ganglio linfático se ha utilizado desde hace más de 40 años. Los objetivos de esta investigación fueron determinar la sensibilidad, la especifi cidad y los valores predictivos positivo y negativo de la impronta del ganglio linfático para el diagnóstico del linfoma y estimar el índice interobservador. Métodos: estudio retrospectivo, observacional y prolectivo de las improntas de ganglios linfáticos obtenidas por biopsia durante un periodo de seis años. Resultados: se incluyeron 199 improntas; 27.1 % se consideró reactivo (n = 54), 16.1 % como linfoma Hodgkin (n = 32), 40.2 % (n = 80) como no Hodgkin y 16.6 % (n = 33) como carcinoma metastásico. Al compararlas con los reportes histopatológicos fi nales, la sensibilidad fue de 88 % (0.81-0.95), la especifi cidad de 64 % (0.55- 0.73), el valor predictivo positivo de 67 % (0.59-0.76) y el negativo, de 86 % (0.79-0.94). La concordancia interobservador fue moderada (índice kappa de 0.467). Conclusiones: el análisis de la impronta del ganglio linfático es útil para el diagnóstico de las neoplasias linfoproliferativas."

This paper proposes a new unsupervised approach for colour image segmentation. A hierarchy of image partitions is created on the basis of a function that merges spatially connected regions according to primary perceptual criteria. Likewise, a global function that measures the goodness of each defined partition is used to choose the best low-level perceptual grouping in the hierarchy. Contributions also include a comparative study with five unsupervised colour image segmentation techniques. These techniques have been frequently used as a reference in other comparisons. The results obtained by each method have been systematically evaluated using four well-known unsupervised measures for judging the segmentation quality. Our methodology has globally shown the best performance, obtaining better results in three out of four of these segmentation quality measures. Experiments will also show that our proposal finds low-level perceptual solutions that are highly correlated with the ones provided by humans

The morphological analysis of the cytopathic effect on MDCK cell monolayers and hamster cornea and qualitative and quantitative analyses of conditioned medium and proteases were evaluated and compared between two strains ofAcanthamoebagenotype T4. Further than highlighting the biological differences found between both strains, the most important observation in this study was the fact that proteases both in total extracts and in conditioned medium are apparently not determinant in tissue destruction. An interestingly finding was that no lysis of corneal tissue was observed as it was previously suggested. These results, together with previous studies, allow us to conclude that the invasion and disruption of corneal tissue is performed by the penetration of the amoebae through cell junctions, either by the action of proteases promoting cellular separation but not by their destruction and/or a mechanical effect exerted by amoebae. Therefore, contact-dependent mechanisms inAcanthamoebapathogenesis are more relevant than it has been previously considered. This is supported because the phagocytosis of recently detached cells as well as those attached to the corneal epithelium leads to the modification of the cellular architecture facilitating the migration and destruction of deeper layers of the corneal epithelium.

Objective: to evaluate the effects on surface hardness and roughness of the whitening gel 35% hydrogen peroxide with brushed back.Methods: an experimental In vitro study was done, 40 blocks of 3 mm2 enamel of third molar teeth of the vestibular portion was smoothed with sandpaper blocks granulation from 600 to 1500, to be divided into the two methodologies, microhardness Vickers (n = 20) and Atomic force Microscopy (n = 20), and this in two groups, GC and GCC. In the GC group the whitening was done with hydrogen peroxide 35% (n = 10), in the GCC, it was performed with 35% hydrogen peroxide and brushing with toothpaste containing 1450 ppm of fluoride. ANOVA test and a post Student t test with a level of significance α=0.05, was conducted to know the differences between the groups.Results: a statistically significant difference on the number of Vickers microhardness (NDV) in the GCC group (before: 369.4 ± 19.4 NDV, after: 392.4 ± 14.2 NDV) was found, but no statistically significant difference was observed for the surface roughness (Ra), between this two groups.Conclusion: brushing with toothpaste containing 1450 ppm fluoride after dental bleaching process with 35% hydrogen peroxide maintained the stability of the surface hardness of the enamel. Objetivo: evaluar los efectos sobre la dureza superficial y la rugosidad de un gel clareador de peróxido de hidrógeno 35% con posterior cepillado.Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio experimental In vitro, fueron realizados cuarenta bloques de esmalte de 3mm2 de terceros molares en la porción vestibular, fueron lijados con lijas de granulación 600 – 1500, para ser divididos en las dos metodologías: microdureza Vickers (n=20) y microscopia de fuerza atómica (n=20). Estos fueron divididos en dos grupos, GC y GCC. En el grupo GC (n=10) se realizó aclaramiento con peróxido de hidrógeno al 35% mientras que en el GCC, el aclaramiento se hizó con peróxido de hidrógeno al 35% y posterior a éste se realizó cepillado con una crema dental que contenía 1450 ppm de flúor. Se realizó un test de ANOVA, un post test t de Student con un nivel de significancia α≤0,05, para conocer las diferencias entre los grupos.Resultados: se encontró una diferencia estadísticamente significativa sobre el número de microdureza vickers (NDV) en el grupo GCC (antes: 369,4 ± 19,4 NDV, después: 392,4 ± 14,2 NDV) pero no se observó ninguna diferencia estadísticamente significativa sobre la rugosidad (Ra), en ninguno de los dos grupos.Conclusión: el cepillado con crema dental con 1450 ppm de fluor, después del proceso de aclaramiento dental con peróxido de hidrógeno 35% mantiene la estabilidad de la dureza superficial del esmalte.[Domínguez JA, Paredes MA, Gómez KA, Martínez GA, Alegría GH, Gomes OMM. Efectos sobre esmalte de aplicación con peróxido de hidrógeno al 35% y cepillado. Ustasalud 2013; 12: 41 - 46]

Research in Mexico has had an important advance, including health research. However, despite great efforts to include medical research in decision making, it is necessary to strengthen existing actions and programs, generating new research agendas in health.

Con el objetivo de establecer la cifra de corte de leucocitos y edad con implicación pronostica en adultos con leucemia linfoblástica aguda (LLA), se efectuó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y analítico anidado en la cohorte retrospectiva de pacientes con LLA tratados mediante el protocolo institucional HGMLAL07 durante 2007-2014. Se estudiaron 255 pacientes, el 52.9% (n=135) correspondieron al género femenino y 47.1% (n=120) al género masculino. La media de edad fue de 31 (16-80) años. La supervivencia libre de la enfermedad (SLE) disminuyó en ambos géneros a partir de los 20 años (p=0.001). La media de leucocitos fue 56.1 x 109/L (0.1-850 x 109/L). La SLE disminuyó significativamente a partir de una cifra igual o mayor de 20 x 109/L (p

The variable clinical course of human giardiasis may be due in part to differences in the virulence of various strains of Giardia lamblia. To address this issue, the in vitro cytopathic effect of isolates obtained from human symptomatic or asymptomatic infections was assessed by ultrastructural and electrophysiological methods. Axenic trophozoites of 10 strains of G. lamblia isolated from children with infections in Mexico City were cultured for 12 to 24 hr on live MDCK epithelial cells. No decrease in transepithelial resistance of MDCK monolayers mounted in Ussing chambers was detected with any of the isolates analyzed. On the contrary, trophozoites or media in which the isolates grew produced up to a twofold increase in transepithelial resistance. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed that all isolates of G. lamblia, irrespective of their origin, gave rise to focal regions of microvilli depletion. These modifications were induced by the close attachment of the ventrolateral flange of the parasite adhesive disk to the apical surface of MDCK cells. The circular imprints evolved progressively to larger areas devoid of microvilli. In conclusion, under in vitro conditions, isolates of G. lamblia trophozoites derived from symptomatic or asymptomatic human infections damage epithelial cultured cells mainly by depleting their microvilli. None of the isolates showed evidence of an invasive effect.

Background and objectives There is no consensus about the ideal method for diagnosis in patients who have already undergone endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA), and the inconclusive material is often obtained. The aim was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of the second EUS-FNA of pancreatic lesions. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of patients with EUS-FNA of pancreatic lesions is performed. All patients who underwent more than one EUS-FNA for the evaluation of suspected pancreatic cancer over a 7-year period were included in the analysis. Results A total of 296 EUS-FNAs of the pancreas were performed in 257 patients. The diagnostic yield with the first EUS-FNA was 78.6% (202/257). Thirty-nine (13.3%) FNAs were repeated in 34 patients; 17 (50%) patients were women. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) age was 58.8 ± 16.1 years. The location of the lesions in the pancreatic gland, from which the second biopsies were taken, was head of the pancreas, n = 28 (82.4%), body of the pancreas, n = 3 (8.8%), and tail, n = 3 (8.8%). The mean ± SD of the size of the lesion was 36.3 ± 14.6 mm. The second EUS-FNA was more likely to be positive for diagnosis in patients with an "atypical" histological result in the first EUS-FNA (odds ratio [OR]: 4.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.9-18.3), in contrast to patients with a first EUS-FNA reported as "normal" (OR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.06-0.71). Overall, the diagnostic yield of the second EUS-FNA was 58.8% (20/34) with an increase to 86.3% overall (222/257). Conclusion Repeat EUS-FNA in pancreatic lesions is necessary in patients with a negative first EUS-FNA because it improves the diagnostic yield.

During Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoite-cysts differentiation, four morphological stages were identified by scanning electron microscopy: trophozoite, precyst, immature cysts, and mature cysts. Fluorescence microscopy reveals the presence of small cumulus of actin in the cytoplasm of precysts after treatment with rhodamine phalloidin. By the contrary, in mature cysts, fluorescence was not observed. However, when excystation was induced, large fluorescent patches were present. By transmission electron microscopy, encysting amebas showed small cytoplasmic vesicles containing fibrillar material, surrounded by a narrow area of thin fibrils. Similar appearance was observed in pseudopods and phagocytic invaginations. In addition, large aggregates of rod-shape elements, similar to the chromatoid bodies, described in other amebas, were present in the cytoplasm. These cysts presented large areas with orange fluorescence after treatment with acridine orange.

GIMEMA ALL 0288 trial was designed to evaluate the impact of a 7-day prednisone (PDN) pretreatment on complete remission of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We adopted this trial in 2007.To evaluate the results of treatment in two cohorts of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, treated from 2007 to January 2009 and from February to December 2009.We studied 99 patients treated in the first period (58 males) and 54 patients treated in the second period (33 males) The age of patients ranged from 16 to 60 years and 70% of patients were of high risk. BCR/ABL fusion transcript was present in 12% of patients.Remission rates were 61 and 51% for patients of the first and second group of treatment, respectively. The main cause of death were infections during the induction period. There were 49 relapses, mainly detected in the blood marrow. Global and event free 34 months survival were 32 and 30% respectively. Multivariate analysis disclosed risk stratification and central nervous system infiltration as risk factors for mortality.The main obstacles for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in these cohorts of patients were the high incidence of infections and the lack of use of growth stimulating factors.

As a new global strategy for improving public health, the Children's Vaccine Initiative implicitly raises, once again, the question of the role of science in developing countries. If there are to be new and improved vaccines, better delivery systems, and simplified immunization schedules, there must be substantial analysis, laboratory activity, and fieldwork to ensure that the new products are ready for effective use. In the context of these requirements, this paper reviews the possibilities for vaccine research and development in middle-income countries and the benefits in terms of fostering socioeconomic development through integrated scientific health research.

This paper deals with the way in which the environmental dynamics that took place in the lower basin of the Colorado River (Buenos Aires province, Argentina) have affected the degree of archaeological resolution, integrity, and site preservation in different sectors of the study area (e.g., coastal fringe, delta and interior dune fields). Evidence from geomorphologic, stratigraphic, and sedimentary analyses as well as chemical parameters and zooarchaeological assemblages are used in order to propose spatial and temporal variations in the structure of the archaeological record. These lines of evidence were also used for inferring general paleoclimatic trends. The results obtained indicate that the inland landforms that contained Initial Late Holocene archaeological assemblages (3000-1000 14C BP) have suffered important morphodynamic processes that produced site destruction, loss of organic material and lower degrees of integrity and site resolution. Conversely, landforms located near the delta and the coastal fringe underwent more stable geomorphic processes (e.g., pedogenesis) that promoted better preservation, resolution, and integrity during the Initial Late Holocene and, particularly, during the Final Late Holocene (1000-250 14C BP). The recognition of this pattern is crucial in order to evaluate demographic processes linked with the intensity and mode of hunter-gatherer occupation of the area and population dynamics throughout time. Fil: Martinez, Gustavo Adolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano; Argentina Fil: Martinez, Gustavo Adolfo. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario; Argentina

Knowledge of the fine structural organization, molecular composition and permeability properties of the cell surface of intestinal protozoan cysts is important to understand the biologic basis of their resistance. Recent studies on the biology of the cyst walls of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba invadens have considerably advanced knowledge on the cellular processes involved in the transport and surface deposition of the main cyst wall components. Using transmission electron microscopy, cytochemistry, scanning electron microscopy and freeze-fracture techniques, we have obtained new information. In mature cysts the permeability of Entamoeba cysts is limited to small molecules not by the cyst wall, but by the plasma membrane, as demonstrated with the use of ruthenium red as an electron-dense tracer. Cell walls of E. histolytica cysts are made up of five to seven layers of unordered fibrils 7-8 nm thick. Alcian blue stains a regular mesh of fibrils approximately 4 nm thick, running perpendicularly to the cyst wall. In addition, abundant ionogenic groups are seen in cyst walls treated with cationized ferritin. In the mature cysts of E. histolytica and E. invadens small cytoplasmic vesicles with granular material were in close contact with the plasma membrane, suggesting a process of fusion and deposition of granular material to the cell wall. The plasma membrane of mature cysts is devoid of intramembrane particles when analyzed with the freeze-fracture technique. When viewed with scanning electron microscopy the surface of E. histolytica cysts clearly differs from that of Entamoeba coli and E. invadens.

In this paper we present three different methodologies of band selection for hyperspectral data sets applied to classification and regression tasks using Information Theory measures. In one of the cases, the bands will be selected having information about the classification labels of the data points (supervised classification). In the second one, no information about the target labels is required (unsupervised classification). In the third problem, the target variables are of continuous nature and are also available (supervised regression).

Electron dense granules (EDGs) were identified by transmission electron microscopy in Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites recovered from hamster liver lesions. Abundant granules were present in trophozoites recovered after 15 min of liver inoculation. Variation in the size and morphology of these EDGs was also observed. Numerous granules were present in the plasma membrane when these parasites were incubated for 5 min with MDCK monolayers. Release of these EDGs was suggested by the presence of granules in contact with the surface of the target cell plasma membrane. Parasite phagocytic invaginations were observed after 10 min of parasite-monolayer interaction. In these structures, scarce granules were seen. Granules secretion was corroborated by obtaining of a pellet of these small structures from the incubation of trophozoites with collagen supernatant. Collagenase and gellatinase activity of this pellet was identified in SDS-PAGE gels. EDGs were also present in amebic hamster liver lesions. Our observations corroborate that these granules are secreted and suggest that may participate in the cytopathic effect of E. histolytica both in vitro and in vivo.

In this paper, a semi-supervised approach based on probabilistic relaxation theory is presented. It combines two desirable properties; firstly, a very small number of labelled samples is needed and, secondly, the assignment of labels is consistently performed according to our contextual information constraints. The proposed technique has been successfully applied to pattern recognition problems, obtaining promising preliminary results in database classification and image segmentation. Our methodology has also been evaluated against a recent state-of-the-art algorithm for semi-supervised learning, obtaining generally comparable or better results.

The main motivation of this work is to find and evaluate solutions for generating binary masks (silhouettes) of foreground targets in an automatic way. To this end, four renowned unsupervised image segmentation algorithms are applied to foreground segmentation. A comparison among these algorithms is carried out using the MuHAVi dataset of multi-camera human action video sequences. This dataset presents significant challenges in terms of harsh illumination resulting for example in high contrast and deep shadows. The segmentation results have been objectively evaluated against manually derived ground-truth silhouettes.

In this paper, a semi-supervised approach based on probabilistic relaxation theory is presented. Focused on image segmentation, the presented technique combines two desirable properties; a very small number of labelled samples is needed and the assignment of labels is consistently performed according to our contextual information constraints. Our proposal has been tested on medical images from a dermatology application with quite promising preliminary results. Not only the unsupervised accuracies have been improved as expected but similar accuracies to other semi-supervised approach have been obtained using a considerably reduced number of labelled samples. Results have been also compared with other powerful and well-known unsupervised image segmentation techniques, improving significantly their results.

In order to study the initial events during infection of target cells by the enteric pathogen Entamoeba histolytica, we developed a quantitative adhesion assay based on the use of a human colonic cell line (CaCo-2) and biotinylated amoebae tagged with fluorescein. To prevent the strong and rapid lytic activity of Entamoeba histolytica on colonic cells, which would otherwise impede the study of the primary adhesion steps, parasites were mildly fixed, biotinylated and labelled with streptavidin-FITC. After labelled parasites have bound to enterocytes, nonadhered amoebae are removed by washing and attached parasites quantified by means of an automated fluorescence plate reader. The bioassay is simple, nonhazardous and can be completed in 1.5 h. We were able to detect ranges from 200 to 20,000 fluorescent parasites per microwell in a 96-well plate, containing approximately 105 colonic cells. Fluorescence intensity (arbitrary units) increased in direct relationship to the number of parasites added per well, and was not limited by the size of the culture plate (96, 24 or six wells). As an example of the value of this assay, two proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1, (IL-1β) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) known to influence the adhesion properties of endothelial and epithelial cells, were used to assess their effects upon enterocyte-entamoeba binding. The increase in amoebae binding revealed by cytokine treatment to enterocytes suggests that the parasite may take advantage of inflammatory stimuli in order to increase its binding to colonic epithelium. We believe this rapid, sensitive and simple method offers the potential for large scale screening assays to study the immunobiology of this protozoal infection by analysing the mechanisms involved in the primary interactions between Entamoeba histolytica and enterocytes.

The rapid redistribution of surface antigen–antibody complexes in trophozoites of the human protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica, in a process known as capping, has been considered as a means of the parasite to evade the host immune response. So far, capping has been documented in the invasive E. histolytica, whereas the mobility of surface components in the non-invasive Entamoeba dispar is not known. E. dispar does not induce liver lesions in rodent experimental models, in contrast to the liver abscesses produced by E. histolytica in the same animal model. We have therefore analyzed the mobility of surface receptors to the lectin concanavalin A and of Rab11, a membrane-associated protein, in both species of Entamoebae by confocal fluorescence microscopy and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The great majority of E. histolytica trophozoites became morphologically polarized through the formation of well-defined caps at the posterior pole of the parasite. Actin colocalized with the lectin caps. Antibodies against the membrane protein Rab 11 also produced capping. In striking contrast, in E. dispar, the mobility of concanavalin A surface receptors was restricted to the formation of irregular surface patches that did no progress to constitute well-defined caps. Also, anti-Rab 11 antibodies did not result in capping in E. dispar. Whether the failure of E. dispar to efficiently mobilize surface molecules in response to lectin or antibodies as shown in the present results is related to its non-invasive character represents an interesting hypothesis requiring further analysis.

In this paper, the results of a semi-supervised approach based on the Expectation-Maximisation algorithm for model-based clustering are presented. We show in this work that, if the appropriate generative model is chosen, the classification accuracy on clustering for image segmentation can be significantly improved by the combination of a reduced set of labelled data and a large set of unlabelled data. This technique has been tested on real images as well as on medical images from a dermatology application. The preliminary results are quite promising. Not only the unsupervised accuracies have been improved as expected but the segmentation results obtained are considerably better than the results obtained by other powerful and well-known unsupervised image segmentation techniques.

The study of the encystation process of Entamoeba histolytica has been hampered by the lack of experimental means of inducing mature cysts in vitro. Previously we have found that cytoplasmic vesicles similar to the encystation vesicles of Entamoeba invadens are present in E. histolytica trophozoites only in amebas recovered from experimental amebic liver abscesses. Here we report that a monoclonal antibody (B4F2) that recognizes the cyst wall of E. invadens also identifies a 48 kDa protein in vesicles of E. histolytica trophozoites recovered from hepatic lesions. This protein is less expressed in trophozoites continuously cultured in axenical conditions. As previously reported for E. invadens, the B4F2 specific antigen was identified as enolase in liver-recovered E. histolytica, by two-dimensional electrophoresis, Western blot and mass spectrometry. In addition, the E. histolytica enolase mRNA was detected by RT PCR. The antigen was localized by immunoelectron microscopy in cytoplasmic vesicles of liver-recovered amebas. The B4F2 antibody also recognized the wall of mature E. histolytica cysts obtained from human samples. These results suggest that the enolase-containing vesicles are produced by E. histolytica amebas, when placed in the unfavorable liver environment that could be interpreted as an attempt to initiate the encystation process.

1 Introduction 2 Classification 3 Structure and Life Cycle 4 Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Genetics 5 Clinical Aspects 6 Clinical Manifestations 7 Immunology 8 Pathology 9 Diagnosis 10 Epidemiology and Control 11 Epidemiology 12 Chemotherapy 13 Vaccination 14 Integrated Control Keywords: amebiasis, Entamoeba histolytica infections; biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics; genus Entamoeba-E. histolytica, E. hartmanni, E. coli; plasma membrane of trophozoite of E. histolytica; aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH); extracellular matrix component (ECM) degradation ; amebic appendicitis; Amebomas, pseudotumoral lesions, associated with necrosis, inflammation and mucosal edema