Background:Alcohol and illicit drugs(AID)continue to be a major global health concern.Although preventable,AID is linked to millions of deaths annually worldwide.The situation is particularly grave for young people,with AID being a major direct risk factor for disability-adjusted youth life-years lost and death.It further contributes to assaults,road crashes,accidental poisoning,and suicide,leading to long-term issues and public health concerns. Objective:This study aimed at disclosing current AID prevalence data for Argentinian,Bulgarian,Chilean and Romanian youth.It shed light on the predictors of AID in young people from those countries. Method:The study used an online survey to gather data from people aged 18 to 25(n=1,297).The survey was underpinned by the theory of planned behaviour(TPB).Predictors were investigated separately for drinking alcohol and using illicit drugs. Results:Our data revealed that across the four target countries,49％to 90％of the participants drank alcohol,and 8％to 35％used illicit drugs in the past three months.Between 20％and 91％of them intended to drink,and between 8％and 31％intended to use illicit drugs in the following three months.Our TPB model predicted statistically significant(P＜0.001)amounts of variance in drinking alcohol(between 61％and 72％)and using il-licit drugs(between 20.3％and 74.4％).Intention was consistent in significantly predicting both behaviours.Evidence around the predictive validity of self-efficacy,age and gender was mixed across the investigated countries. Conclusion:This research provided an update on the scarce AID epidemiological data.It also supplied evidence about what theoretically-informed measures might be useful targets of interventions in the case of Argentina,Bulgaria,Chile and Romania.This new knowledge of understanding substance abuse determinants and prevalence may help researchers and practitioners better meet young people's health prevention needs.

Aims: The genus Arthrobacter is a pleomorphic and heterogeneous Gram-positive bacteria mainly isolated from the soil, only two species of Arthrobacter have been reported worldwide as pathogens of veterinary importance. This paper aims to report the isolation and identification of the Arthrobacter gandavensis from cows with subclinical mastitis at a dairy farm in the savanna of Bogotá, Colombia. Methodology and results: A total of 209 milk and skin samples were taken from cows with and without subclinical mastitis, nasal swabs from workers and the environment. All samples were cultured in blood and MacConkey agar and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and mass spectrometry MALDI TOF-MS. From the isolates identified, 33 corresponded to Staphylococcus spp., nine to the Enterobacteriaceae family and seven from Arthrobacter spp. (only identified by MALDI-ToF MS). The A. gandavensis isolates were obtained from six different positive cows for the California mastitis test, all with a matching pattern corresponding to Arthrobacter gandavensis strain DSM N: 15046, isolated from milk from cows with subclinical mastitis in Belgium. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed 100% genetic similarity with sequences of A. gandavensis previously reported in the NCBI databases. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The identification by MALDI-ToF-MS and molecular, as shown in this report, is important to provide data that allow us to approach the actual ecology of the opportunistic pathogens of subclinical mastitis, especially in regions where the infection is endemic.
Arthrobacter ; Cattle--microbiology

The aim of this study was to evaluate different methods for Trichomonas vaginalis diagnosis during pregnancy in order to prevent maternal and perinatal complications. A total of 386 vaginal exudates from pregnant women were analyzed. T. vaginalis was investigated by 3 types of microscopic examinations direct wet mount with physiologic saline solution, prolonged May-Grunwald Giemsa (MGG) staining, and wet mount with sodium-acetate-formalin (SAF)/methylene blue method. PCR for 18S rRNA gene as well as culture in liquid medium were performed. The sensitivity and specificity of the microscopic examinations were evaluated considering the culture media positivity or the PCR techniques as gold standard. The frequency of T. vaginalis infection was 6.2% by culture and/or PCR, 5.2% by PCR, 4.7% by culture, 3.1% by SAF/methylene blue method and 2.8% by direct wet smear and prolonged MGG staining. The sensitivities were 83.3%, 75.0%, 50.0%, and 45.8% for PCR, culture, SAF/methylene blue method, and direct wet smear-prolonged MGG staining, respectively. The specificity was 100% for all the assessed methods. Microscopic examinations showed low sensitivity, mainly in asymptomatic pregnant patients. It is necessary to improve the detection of T. vaginalis using combined methods providing higher sensitivity, such as culture and PCR, mainly in asymptomatic pregnant patients, in order to prevent maternal and perinatal complications.
Argentina* ; Culture Media ; Diagnosis* ; Exudates and Transudates ; Female ; Genes, rRNA ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sodium Chloride ; Trichomonas vaginalis* ; Trichomonas*

AIMTo evaluate the immunohistopathological changes in the contralateral testis of rats after an experimental spermatic cord torsion.

METHODSMale Sprague-Dawley rats of 45-50 days old were subjected to a 720 degree unilateral spermatic cord torsion for 10, 30 and 80 days (experimental group, E), respectively or sham operation (control group, C). Histopathology of the contralateral testis as well as germ cell apoptosis were studied using the Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase Biotin-dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) technique. The number of testicular lymphocytes, mast cells and macrophages, and the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and its receptor (TNFR1) in testicular cells of the contralateral testis were quantified by histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. TNF-alpha concentration in testicular fluid was determined by ELISA.

RESULTSIn the contralateral testis of rats from the E group, the maximal degree of damage of the germinal epithelium was seen 30 days after torsion. At this time we observed in the E group vs. the C group increases: (i) the number of testicular T-lymphocytes; (ii) the number of testicular mast cells and macrophages; (iii) the percentage of macrophages expressing TNF-alpha; (iv) TNF-a concentration in testicular fluid; (v) the number of apoptotic germ cells; and (vi) the number of TNFR1+ germ cells.

CONCLUSIONExperimental spermatic cord torsion induces, in the contralateral testis, a focal damage of seminiferous tubules characterized by apoptosis and sloughing of germ cells. Results suggest humoral and cellular immune mediated testicular cell damage in which macrophages and mast cells seem to be involved in the induction of germ cell apoptosis through the TNF-alpha/TNFR1 system and in the modulation of the inflammatory process.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Disease Models, Animal ; Functional Laterality ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seminiferous Tubules ; pathology ; Spermatic Cord Torsion ; pathology ; surgery ; Testis ; pathology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; analysis