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The prevalence of mental health problems constitutes an open challenge for modern societies, particularly for low and middle-income countries with wide gaps in mental health support. With this in mind, five datasets were analyzed to track mental health trends in Mexico City during the pandemic's first year. This included 33,234 responses to an online mental health risk questionnaire, 349,202 emergency calls, and city epidemiological, mobility, and online trend data. The COVID-19 mental health risk questionnaire collects information on socioeconomic status, health conditions, bereavement, lockdown status, and symptoms of acute stress, sadness, avoidance, distancing, anger, and anxiety, along with binge drinking and abuse experiences. The lifeline service dataset includes daily call statistics, such as total, connected, and abandoned calls, average quit time, wait time, and call duration. Epidemiological, mobility, and trend data provide a daily overview of the city's situation. The integration of the datasets, as well as the preprocessing, optimization, and machine learning algorithms applied to them, evidence the usefulness of a combined analytic approach and the high reuse potential of the data set, particularly as a machine learning training set for evaluating and predicting anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as general psychological support needs and possible system loads., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

We aimed to identify patterns of cognitive differences and characterize subgroups of Mexican children and adolescents with three neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD): intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The sample included 74 children and adolescents 6-15 years; 34% had ID, ASD or ADHD, 47% had ID in comorbidity with ASD, ADHD or both, 11% had ASD + ADHD, 8% were children without NDD. We applied WISC-IV, Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Structured Interview, Child Behavior Checklist, and UNICEF Child Functioning Module. We evaluated the normality of the WISC-IV sub-scales using the Shapiro-Francia test, then conducted a latent class analysis and assessed inter-class differences in terms of household, parent and child characteristics. The following four-class solution best fit the data: "Lower Cognitive Profile" (LCP), "Lower Working Memory" (LWM), "Higher Working Memory" (HWM), "Higher Cognitive Profile" (HCP). LCP included most of the children with ID, who had a low Working Memory (WM) index score. LWM included mainly children with ASD or ID + ADHD; their Perceptual Reasoning (PR) and Processing Speed (PS) index scores were much higher than those for Verbal Comprehension (VC) and WM. HWM included children with ASD or ADHD; their scores for PR, PS and VC were high with lower WM (although higher than for LWM). HCP included children without NDD and with ASD or ADHD or both and had the highest scores on all indices. Children with NDD show cognitive heterogeneity and thus require individualized treatment plans., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Sulfate (SO 4 -sug) and sulfonate (SO 3 -sug) arsenosugar standard solutions were obtained using preparative liquid chromatography. Several commercial algae samples were characterized (total contents and speciation) to select the most appropriate in relation to their arsenosugar contents. Water extracts from the selected sample (Fucus vesiculosus) were fractionated using a Hamilton PRP-X100 preparative column, and the presence of arsenic species in the isolated fractions was ascertained by IC-ICP-MS. Two of the fractions successfully presented only one arsenic species corresponding to sulfate and sulfonate arsenosugars at suitable concentrations. To unequivocally confirm the presence of both compounds, high-resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF/MS) was used and the exact mass determined with errors lower than 0.5 ppm. The standard solutions obtained were successfully used to identify and quantify SO 4 -sug and SO 3 -sug in several edible algae samples purchased in local market. Total arsenic content for analyzed samples ranged from 34 to 57 mg kg -1 , concentration values found for SO 3 -sug ranged from 5 to 36 mg As kg -1 and SO 4 -sug was only found in fucus with a concentration of 9.3 mg As kg -1 ., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The synthesis of new phthalocyanine iron(ii) (FePc) based coordination complexes , their structural characterization by multinuclear NMR ((1)H, (13)C, (15)N, (31)P, (57)Fe), and their use as improved sensitive and cheap optical NO(2) sensors is described. delta((15)N) and delta((57)Fe) values obtained via HMQC NMR methods show an interesting trend, the larger the chemical shift value the more the selectivity towards NO(2). Among all the sensing films prepared, the novel mixed ligand phosphite-amine [FePc(benzylamine)(P(OEt)(3)] () immobilized into AP200/19 showed the best sensitivity, reversibility (LOD and LOQ of 1.2 ppb and 4.0 ppb, respectively), and thermostability in the range of 4 to 25 degrees C.

Objective: To assess the prevalence, practices, beliefs, and expectations of patients with rheumatic diseases in relation to the use of alternative therapies., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 300 consecutive patients with rheumatic diseases at 3 outpatient rheumatic disease clinics in Guadalajara, Mexico to evaluate the use of alternative therapies. A face-to-face structured interview was administered by a trained assistant to evaluate the prevalence of use and patient beliefs, perceptions, and expectations in relation to alternative therapies., Results: Two hundred fifty patients (83%) had used a total of 1,386 alternative therapies (range 1-19); 203 (68%) patients had used alternative therapy in the previous 12 months. Sixty-one percent received at least one alternative treatment before the first rheumatology consultation, but an additional 18% initiated these therapies after their initial contact with a rheumatologist at our clinics. Only 66 (26%) of the patients using alternative therapy notified their rheumatologist about their use. Thirty-six patients (14%) discontinued formal treatment at least on one occasion in order to receive alternative therapies, and only 8 (22%) notified their rheumatologist. Alternative therapy practitioners recommended discontinuation of conventional therapy on 57% of the occasions when formal treatments were discontinued. Mean expenditures per patient for fees to alternative therapy providers were equivalent to 28 days of the official minimum daily wage, and per patient costs for the remedies themselves were equivalent to 13 days of the official minimum daily wage. Patients who used alternative therapy in the past 12 months had lower education (7 versus 10 years, P < 0.001) and were slightly more disabled (1.7 versus 1.5, modified Health Assessment Questionnaire, P < 0.01)., Conclusions: In this survey most patients used alternative therapies for the treatment of their rheumatic disease. Alternative therapies were costly and appeared to decrease adherence to conventional therapy. Health care providers should openly discuss the use of alternative therapy in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Objective: To evaluate the potential efficacy of intravenous bolus cyclophosphamide (IVCY) in patients with pyoderma gangrenosum., Methods: Consecutive patients with a diagnosis of pyoderma gangrenosum seen in a period of 3 years in tertiary care referral center were included. Patients received IVCY 500 mg/m2 of body surface area, every month until reaching a maximum of 6 doses, or healing of their ulcers or a lack of response after 3 doses. Patients were assessed every month during the time they received IVCY and every 3 months thereafter. The assessments included number and size of ulcers, and a safety profile of the study drug. Complete remission was defined as 100% ulcer healing, partial remission as a decrease > or = 50% but less than 100%, and therapeutical failure if the size of the ulcer increased or decreased < 50%., Results: Nine patients were included, 6 were men, the mean age was 46 yrs (range 24-76). The mean disease duration was 3.3 yrs (range 1 week to 9 yrs). Four patients had idiopathic pyoderma gangrenosum, 3 had associated rheumatoid arthritis, and 2 had associated systemic lupus erythematosus. Complete remission was observed in 7 patients, partial in one, and failure in one. Relapses were observed, 3 months after the last IVCY (2 cases) and 12 months after the last IVCY (one case). Transitory thrombocytopenia and leukopenia developed in one patient and nausea and vomiting in another., Conclusion: IVCY appears effective in controlling the lesions of pyoderma gangrenosum and inducing remission for a substantial period in many individuals.

Some clinical features observed in diabetes mellitus suggest secondary Sjögren's syndrome, and the effect of autonomic neuropathy on tear production is analyzed. Limited joint mobility in diabetes mellitus continues to attract attention, and a number of suggestions for further studies are discussed. Neurophysiologic assessment of the median nerve distinguishes diabetic polyneuropathy from carpal tunnel syndrome; however, Martin-Gruber anastomosis may modify nerve conduction measurements. Fracture rate does not appear to be increased in diabetes mellitus. The role of confounding variables and a dose-dependent effect of thyroxine therapy on bone mass is discussed. The possible association of hypothyroidism with gout is debated. Autoimmune thyroid diseases may be added to the list of conditions that produce anticardiolipin antibodies without the clinical manifestations of antiphospholipid syndrome.

After studying a bisexual male with a clinical picture suggestive of AIDS a positive ELISA test for antibodies against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), but negative results on indirect immunofluorescence testing, as well, as absence of core and envelope HIV antibodies by ELISA, and who later turned out to have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) which become asymptomatic on corticosteroid therapy, we decided to test 70 patients with SLE for HIV antibodies. Four of them (5.6%) were positive by ELISA, but on a repeated test only 2 (2.8%) remained positive, and their sera was tested by indirect immunofluorescence. They were negative, as was the ELISA test for core and envelope HIV antibodies. We conclude that the possibility of more such cases, of SLE mimicking AIDS, should be kept in mind, including the occurrence of false positive ELISA tests in such patients.