[Intentional search and reclassification of maternal deaths in Mexico: The effect on the distribution of causes]

OBJECTIVE

To correct the misclassification and improve the quality of information on maternal mortality in Mexico.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using clinical records and verbal autopsies, we studied all deaths certified as maternal deaths as well as a selection of deaths of women of childbearing age whose causes were considered as suspected of hiding a maternal death, all of which occurred during 2011 within Mexico.

RESULTS

The deliberate search of maternal deaths and reclassification allowed the rescue of just over 100 deaths that were not originally registered or coded as maternal and confirmed or corrected the causes of death recorded on death certificates as confirmed maternal deaths. This procedure also allowed the reclassification of 297 maternal deaths of women in the groundwork of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

CONCLUSIONS

International Search and Reclassification of Maternal Deaths is a very useful procedure for improving the classification of cases that were not classified as maternal deaths and the effect was greater with the coding of indirect obstetric deaths.

Búsqueda intencionada y reclasificación de muertes maternas en México: el efecto en la distribución de las causas

Objetivo. Corregir la mala clasificación y mejorar la calidad de la información sobre la mortalidad materna en México. Material y métodos. A través de los registros clínicos y autopsias verbales, se estudiaron todas las defunciones certificadas como maternas y una selección de defunciones de mujeres en edad fértil, cuyas causas fueron consideradas como sospechosas de encubrir una muerte materna; todas ocurridas durante 2011 en México. Resultados. La búsqueda intencionada y reclasificación de muertes maternas permitió rescatar más de 100 muertes que no habían sido registradas ni codificadas inicialmente como maternas y se ratificaron o rectificaron las causas anotadas en los certificados de defunción. Este procedimiento también permitió reclasificar como muertes maternas 297 defunciones de la base preliminar del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Conclusiones. La Búsqueda Intencionada y Reclasificación de Muertes Maternas es un procedimiento muy útil para mejorar la calidad de la información sobre la mortalidad materna.

[Viruses and interferon: mechanisms of interferon induction and strategies to escape interferon response]

Pathogen intrusion triggers an immediate host response leading in most cases to the elimination of the microbe. Type-I interferons (IFN-a/b) production and release is a major event in innate antiviral immunity through the establishment of an antiviral state in neighbouring cells. IFN production depends on the interaction between viral PAMPs (pathogen-associated molecular patterns) and their corresponding cellular sensors-also called PRRs (pattern recognition receptors)-either from membranous (Toll-like receptors) or cytosolic (RIG-I helicase) origin. Activated PRRs can recruit downstream partners in order to activate the IRF-3/7, AP1 and NF-jB transcription factors which drive the synthesis of IFN-a/b and inflammatory cytokines. Following binding to their cognate receptor, they activate a signaling cascade (Jak/STAT pathway) that leads to the synthesis of proteins endowed with antiviral or immunomodulatory properties. However, viruses have evolved diverse strategies to escape the IFN response.

Effect of indomethacin on the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase

Indomethacin inhibited cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity in small intestine in in vivo experiments. An inverse pattern of variation was exhibited by acetyl salicylic acid, eterylate and benorylate, acetyl-p-amino-phenol being inactive. Indomethacin, acetyl salicylic acid, eterylate and benorylate increased the protein kinase activity in liver, lung and heart after in vivo administration. The in vivo effect of indomethacin was confirmed by in vitro experiments with small intestine and heart protein kinases. These results support the concept that indomethacin can affect protein kinase activity in a tissue-specific way.

The mechanism of viral carcinogenesis by DNA mammalian viruses. VI. A new class of virus-specific RNA molecules in cells transformed by group C human adenoviruses

A new class of virus-specific RNA molecules was found in cells transformed by group C human adenovirus types 2, 5, and 6. RNA isolated from virus-free rat embryo cells transformed by adenovirus 2, 5, and 6 hybridized with all group C adenovirus DNA's (adenovirus 1, 2, 5, and 6) equally well, but not appreciably with group A and B adenovirus DNA's. Most likely no viral genes common to group A, B, and C adenoviruses are transcribed in adenovirus-transformed cells. Group C adenoviruses are closely related since they share 83 to 93 per cent of their base sequences as shown by DNA-DNA homology measurements. Group C DNA's share only 10 to 26 per cent of their base sequences with group A and B DNA's. Moreover, the shared sequences are not transcribed detectably in adenovirus transformed cells.Virus-specific RNA isolated from group C transformed cells contains 49 to 51 per cent G + C, but viral DNA's possess a 7 to 9 per cent higher G + C content. These differences suggest that only a portion of the viral genome with an average G + C content of 49 to 51 per cent is transcribed in group C adenovirus transformed cells.

Physicochemical characterization of adeno-associated satellite virus type 4 and its nucleic acid

Based on protein, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and phosphorus analyses, adeno-associated satellite virus type 4 has a DNA content of 26.5%, significantly larger than type 1 which contains 18.9% DNA. Type 4 DNA contains 58 to 62% guanine + cytosine, as calculated from thermal denaturation temperature and buoyant density measurements. Simian adenovirus SV15, which serves as a helper virus for type 4 satellite, contains 13.7% DNA with a guanine + cytosine content of 55 to 57%. The DNA extracted from type 4 satellite virus is a linear, double-stranded molecule, as shown by thermal denaturation temperature profile measurements and by electron microscopy. The contour length and sedimentation coefficient of type 4 DNA indicate a molecular weight of 3.0 x 10(6) daltons.

Adenovirus DNA. I. Molecular weight and conformation

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