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The article summarizes the XX Latin American Congress of Nephrology and HTA and the XXIV Argentine Congress of Nephrology, which took place in Córdoba, Argentina. It was the first major in-person congress of Latin American Nephrology after the pandemic. The event had the participation of 1404 attendees, including colleagues from Latin America, Spain, the United States, Belgium, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Korea. Various topics related to nephrology were addressed, such as kidney health, arterial hypertension, diabetes, obesity, dialysis, and transplantation. Additionally, it was announced that the next World Congress of Nephrology will be held in Buenos Aires in April 2024. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Revista Criterio Libre is the property of Revista Criterio Libre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study's objective is to establish some perspectives to advance in the development of research on government accounting in Latin America, taking as a reference a critical analysis of scientific production from the period 2000 - 2018. In this sense, from the review of specialized academic publications associated with the field of management and accounting determined a set of 260 articles in which bibliographic and content parameters such as the methodology used, the temporal, geographical and organizational areas addressed, the subject areas treated, among others, were examined. Overall, it was found that approximately 45% of the documents examined focused on the discussion of regulatory issues regarding accounting and budgeting practices and their convergence with international standards. Therefore, the perspectives for progress could be oriented to topics such as the usefulness of financial information (recognition and valuation of heritage assets and intangibles) and non-financial information (social and environmental aspects), supported by broader theorists, temporal and geographical scopes, a greater empirical evidence and a better understanding of the nature and purpose of various organizations such as audit bodies, universities, hospitals and state companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Change Pain Latin America (CPLA) was created to enhance chronic pain understanding and develop pain management improving strategies in this region. During its seventh meeting (August 2016), the main objective was to discuss tramadol's role in treating pain in Latin America. Furthermore, potential pain management consequences were considered, if tramadol was to become more stringently controlled.Methods: Key topics discussed were: main indications for prescribing tramadol, its pharmacological characteristics, safety and tolerability, effects of restrictions on its availability and use, and consequent impact on pain care quality.Results: The experts agreed that tramadol is used to treat a wide spectrum of non-oncological pain conditions (e.g. post-surgical, musculoskeletal, post-traumatic, neuropathic, fibromyalgia), as well as cancer pain. Its relevance when treating special patient groups (e.g. the elderly) is recognized. The main reasons for tramadol's high significance as a treatment option are: its broad efficacy, an inconspicuous safety profile and its availability, considering that access to strong analgesics - mainly controlled drugs (classical opioids) - is highly restricted in some countries. The CPLA also agreed that tramadol is well tolerated, without the safety issues associated with long-term nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, with fewer opioid-like side effects than classical opioids and lower abuse risk.Conclusions: In Latin America, tramadol is a valuable and frequently used medication for treating moderate to severe pain. More stringent regulations would have significant impact on its availability, especially for outpatients. This could cause regression to older and frequently inadequate pain management methods, resulting in unnecessary suffering for many Latin American patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Flow cytometry (FC) is a helpful tool for the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Different FC score systems have been developed. The "Ogata score" is a simple diagnostic score that has been validated having a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 92% in low‐risk MDS. We aimed to study the feasibility and the utility of the "Ogata score" for the diagnosis of MDS among Latin America (LA) Laboratories. Methods: This is a case and control study conducted in LA institutions members of Grupo Latinoamericano de Mielodisplasia (GLAM). A total of 146 MDS patients and 57 control patients were included. "Ogata score" was calculated. Results: The sensitivity of "Ogata score" was 75.6% (95% CI, 66.8‐81.3), specificity was 91.2% (95% CI, 79.7‐96.7), PPV was 95.6% (95% CI, 88.5‐98.3), and NPV was 65.4% (95% CI, 49.1‐71.9). In low/intermediate‐1 IPSS patients group, the sensitivity was 70.1% (95% CI, 60.2‐78.2), specificity was 91.2% (CI‐95%, 79.7‐96.7), PPV was 94.2% (95% CI, 86.4‐97.8), and NPV was 62.1% (95% CI, 53.0‐78.7). In the group of patients "without MDS specific markers" (patients without ring sideroblasts, blast excess, or chromosomal abnormalities), the sensitivity was 66.7% (CI‐95%, 55.8‐76.0), specificity was 91.2% (95% CI, 79.7‐96.7), PPV was 92.3% (95% CI, 82.2‐97.1), and NPV was 63.5% (95% CI, 51.9‐73.5). Conclusions: The diagnostic power found in this study was similar to the reported by Della‐Porta et al. Also in LA, the analysis was made in modern equipment with acquisition of at least 100 000 events which permits a good reproducibility of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Latin American countries are heterogeneous in terms of lung cancer incidence and exposure to potential carcinogens. We evaluated the frequency and clinical characteristics of ALK rearrangements (ALKr) in Latin America. Methods: A total of 5,130 lung cancer patients from 10 Latin American countries were screened for inclusion. ALKr detection was performed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to assess method variability. Demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed. Results: Among the 5,130 patients screened, 8.4% (n = 433) had nonevaluable FISH tests. Evaluable FISH analyses revealed positive ALKr in 6.8% (320/4,697) of the study population, which included patients from 9 countries. ALKr distribution for each country was: Mexico 7.6% (79/1,034), Colombia 4.1% (10/242), Argentina 6.0% (153/2,534), Costa Rica 9.5% (13/137), Panama 4.4% (5/114), Uruguay 5.4% (2/37), Chile 8.6% (16/185), Venezuela 8.9% (13/146), and Peru 10.8% (29/268). RT-PCR showed high positive (83.6%) and negative (99.7%) predictive values when compared to the gold standard FISH. In contrast, IHC only showed a high negative predictive value (94.6%). Conclusions: Although there is a clear country and continental variability in terms of ALKr frequency, this difference is not significant and the overall incidence of ALKr in Latin America does not differ from the rest of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the frequency of chronic joint pain after infection with chikungunya virus in a Latin American cohort. Methods: A cross‐sectional follow‐up of a prospective cohort of 500 patients from the Atlántico Department, Colombia who were clinically diagnosed as having chikungunya virus during the 2014–2015 epidemic was conducted. Baseline symptoms and follow‐up symptoms at 20 months were evaluated in serologically confirmed cases. Results: Among the 500 patients enrolled, 485 had serologically confirmed chikungunya virus and reported joint pain status. Patients were predominantly adults (mean ± SD age 49 ± 16 years) and female, had an education level of high school or less, and were of Mestizo ethnicity. The most commonly affected joints were the small joints, including the wrists, ankles, and fingers. The initial virus symptoms lasted a median of 4 days (interquartile range [IQR] 3–8 days). Sixteen percent of the participants reported missing school or work (median 4 days [IQR 2–7 days]). After 20 months, one‐fourth of the participants had persistent joint pain. A multivariable analysis indicated that significant predictors of persistent joint pain included college graduate status, initial symptoms of headache or knee pain, missed work, normal activities affected, ≥4 days of initial symptoms, and ≥4 weeks of initial joint pain. Conclusion: This is the first report to describe the frequency of chikungunya virus–related arthritis in the Americas after a 20‐month follow‐up. The high frequency of chronic disease highlights the need for the development of prevention and treatment methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Chronic pain conditions profoundly affect the daily living of a significant number of people and are a major economic and social burden, particularly in developing countries. The Change Pain Latin America (CPLA) advisory panel aimed to identify the most appropriate guidelines for the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) for use across Latin America. Methods. Published systematic reviews or practice guidelines were identified by a systematic search of PubMed, the Guidelines Clearinghouse and Google. Articles were screened by an independent reviewer and potential candidate guidelines were selected for more in-depth review. A shortlist of suitable guidelines was selected and critically evaluated by the CPLA advisory panel. Results. Searches identified 674 and 604 guideline articles for NP and CLBP, respectively. Of these, 14 guidelines were shortlisted for consensus consideration, with the following final selections made: • "Recommendations for the pharmacological management of neuropathic pain from the Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group in 2015-pharmacotherapy for neuropathic pain in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis."• "Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: A joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society" (2007). Conclusions. The selected guidelines were endorsed by all members of the CPLA advisory board as the best fit for use across Latin America. In addition, regional considerations were discussed and recorded. We have included this expert local insight and advice to enhance the implementation of each guideline across all Latin American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the contributions of the cultural history of the book, especially in the lines of Roger Chartier and Robert Darnton, this article approaches Manuel Antonio Carreño's famous Manual de urbanidad in two aspects: first, in the context of its emergence in the mid-nineteenth century which includes the author's intention, and in its several appearances towards the end of the nineteenth century and over the course of the twentieth century, ending with the particular case of its circulation in Chile. This makes it possible to establish an editorial map of the text, its uses and how it unfolded. Moreover, it helps us understand Manuel Carreño himself as an agent of globalization as well as the actors in movement of the nineteenth century, who, in turn, fostered the circulation of lesser knowledge that had a marked significance in the conformation of individual, national and global subjectivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The subject of this publication has been focused on local considerations for facilitating regional best practice, including identifying and uniformly adopting the most relevant international guidelines on opioid use (OU) in chronic pain management. Design and Setting. The Change Pain Latin America (CPLA) Advisory Panel conducted a comprehensive, robust, and critical analysis of published national and international reviews and guidelines of OU, considering those most appropriate for Latin America. Methods. A PubMed search was conducted using the terms "opioid," "chronic," and "pain" and then refined using the filters "practice guidelines" and "within the last 5 years" (2007-2012). Once the publications were identified, they were selected using five key criteria: "Evidence based," "Comprehensive," "From a well-recognized source," "Current publications," and "Based on best practice" and then critically analyzed considering 10 key criteria for determining the most relevant guidelines to be applied in Latin America. Results. The initial PubMed search identified 177 reviews and guidelines, which was reduced to 16 articles using the five preliminary criteria. After a secondary analysis according to the 10 key criteria specific to OU in Latin America, 10 publications were selected for critical review and discussion. Conclusions. The CPLA advisory panel considered the "Safe and effective use of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain" (published in 2010 by the NOUGG of Canada) to be valid, relevant to Latin America, practical, evidence-based, concise, unambiguous, and sufficiently educational to provide clear instruction on OU and pain management and, thus, recommended for uniform adoption across the Latin America region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many developed countries have invested heavily in research on plant invasions over the last 50 years, the immense region of Latin America has made little progress. Recognising this, a group of scientists working on plant invasions in Latin America met in Chile in late 2010 to develop a research agenda for the region based on lessons learned elsewhere. Our three main findings are as follows. (1) Globalisation is inevitable, but the resultant plant introductions can be slowed or prevented by effective quarantine and early intervention. Development of spatially explicit inventories, research on the invasion process and weed risk assessments can help prioritise and streamline action. (2) Eradication has limited application for plants and control is expensive and requires strict prioritisation and careful planning and evaluation. (3) Accepting the concept of novel ecosystems, new combinations of native and introduced species that no longer depend on human intervention, may help optimise invasive species management. Our vision of novel ecosystem management is through actions that: (a) maintain as much native biodiversity and ecosystem functionality as possible, (b) minimise management intervention to invasives with known impact, and (c) maximise the area of intervention. We propose the creation of a Latin American Invasive Plants Network to help focus the new research agenda for member countries. The network would coordinate research and training and establish funding priorities, develop and strengthen tools to share knowledge, and raise awareness at the community, governmental and intergovernmental levels about the social, economic and environmental costs of plant invasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Latin American Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Ciência & Saúde Coletiva is the property of Associacao Brasileira de Pos-Graduacao em Saude Coletiva and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the principal themes linking the relation of gender with the water issue, either as a resource or as a service, centred in the situation of poverty which affects a significant portion of the female population in Latin America, especially in issues such as access to drinking water, community actions carried out, and methodologies elaborated in order to increase the active participation of women. In addition, new areas are considered where issues of gender analysis are starting to be applied, such as the impact of the global processes on public policies, water rights, the investments and infrastructure carried out, and the access and participation of women in the training of human resources and the processes of adoption of decisions in the sector. Finally, some central aspects for generating the mainstreaming process of the gender issue within the social, political, economic and environmental problems of water are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses ways in which Mexico's involvement in the Contadora initiative and the Cartagena group is part of a mixed record of relations with the rest of Latin America. Debate over whether Mexico should integrate further either with Latin America or the United States; Effects of history, geography and economics on Mexico's relations with the other nations of Latin America; Explanations proposed to account for the dismal record of Mexican overtures to its southern neighbors; Difficulties implicit in entering the multilateral bargaining process.

Since its 2013 emergence in the Americas, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has posed a serious threat to public health. Early and accurate diagnosis of the disease, though currently lacking in clinics, is integral to enable timely care and epidemiological response. We developed a dual detection system: a CHIKV antigen E1/E2-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a lateral flow test using high-affinity anti-CHIKV antibodies. The ELISA was validated with 100 PCR-tested acute Chikungunya fever samples from Honduras. The assay had an overall sensitivity and specificity of 51% and 96.67%, respectively, with accuracy reaching 95.45% sensitivity and 92.03% specificity at a cycle threshold (Ct) cutoff of 22. As the Ct value decreased from 35 to 22, the ELISA sensitivity increased. We then developed and validated two lateral flow tests using independent antibody pairs. The sensitivity and specificity reached 100% for both lateral flow tests using 39 samples from Colombia and Honduras at Ct cutoffs of 20 and 27, respectively. For both lateral flow tests, sensitivity decreased as the Ct increased after 27. Because CHIKV E1/E2 are exposed in the virion surfaces in serum during the acute infection phase, these sensitive and specific assays demonstrate opportunities for early detection of this emerging human pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America remains on the margins of recent academic debates on how populism influences the foreign policy of states. In order to advance the discussion on the subject, we propose the hybridization of the Latin American experience with international references on the subject. The result of this process is a road map for studying populist foreign policy from Latin America, comprising four axes of analysis: (a) the reproduction of the us/them dichotomy in global politics, associated with different ideologies, (b) the use of critical discourses towards the world scenario, (c) the centralization of foreign policy decision-making around the leader, and (d) the conditioning factors imposed by the position of Latin American countries in the world system as a fundamental restriction to the aspirations for change of populist foreign policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains the connection between water and gender for household use as well as in the context of irrigation, focusing on poor urban women, peasants and indigenous women. The discussion is based on the assumption that there is an inherent social right of all human beings: the right to water, as per the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Given the central role that water plays in daily household life, the lack of home water connections and the lack of round-the-clock water service create hardships, according to the article. The intersection of water and gender policies in Latin America is discussed.

The Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus) is a cracid restricted to cloud forests in the Sierra Madre of Chiapas in Mexico and the western-central Mountains in Guatemala. It is an endangered species and urgent conservation measures are required, such as non-invasive monitoring techniques. Here, we study individual features in the boom calls of Horned Guans. Boom calls are acoustic signals used by males during courtship and territorial displays. This call is made of seven notes, divided into two parts: an introductory section characterized by low-amplitude notes and a body section characterized by high-amplitude notes. We recorded 10 males during the breeding seasons of 2010 and 2011 in two captive populations and measured 22 acoustic variables of the calls. We used a combination of statistical analyses to test individuality in Horned Guan vocalizations. Our results showed that time-related variables – but not frequency-related traits – varied between individuals, and that individual calls showed no variation between years. Our results suggest that Horned Guan individuals can be distinguished using fine structural characteristics of their calls and that calls remain stable across years. We argue that such vocal signature could be used to track wild populations as a non-invasive technique in order to improve census data in the short and long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]