Introduction. Empathy erosion may be defined as a sudden decline in the levels of empathy that occurs as of the third year of medical school and continues until the fifth year. According to some authors, this process is normal during medical training and may be considered a model of empathic behavior. The objective of this study was to verify whether empathy erosion is a general phenomenon in the schools of medicine included in the study and its relation to gender. Design. Exploratory, cross-sectional study. Population. Students from first through sixth year of the School of Medicine of Universidad del Azuay (Cuenca, Ecuador) and from first through fifth year of the School of Medicine of Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez (Colombia). Material and methods. The levels of overall empathy and of each component were estimated using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, which was administered in both schools during July and August of 2016. The significance level was established at α < 0.05. Results. Universidad del Azuay: n= 278 (98% of all students); women= 112; men= 166; Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez: n= 756 (77.86% of all students); women= 434; men= 322. The model of erosion of empathy is not fulfilled at the level of overall empathy or of each studied component according to gender. Conclusions. Empathy erosion is a specific element of several different models of empathic response (and of its components). Men and women do not have the same empathic response. Such response, in the studied conditions, is variable.

Background Informed consent is an important factor in a child’s moral structure from which different types of doctor–patient relationships arise. Children’s autonomy is currently under discussion in terms of their decent treatment, beyond what doctors and researchers perceive. To describe the influential practices that exist among clinicians and researchers toward children with chronic diseases during the process of obtaining informed consent. Methods This was a cross-sectional, qualitative study via a subjective and interpretivist approach. The study was performed by conducting semi-structured interviews of 21 clinicians and researchers. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS version 21® and Atlas Ti version 7.0® programs. Results The deliberative and paternalistic models were influential practices in the physician–patient relationship. In the deliberative model, the child is expected to have a moral awareness of their care. The paternalistic model determined that submission was a way of structuring the child because he or she is considered to be a subject of extreme care. Conclusions The differentiated objectification [educational] process recognizes the internal and external elements of the child. Informed consent proved to be an appropriate means for strengthening moral and structuring the child.

Triclosan (TCS) is a chemical compound, which has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. TCS is considered an endocrine-disrupting chemical, which has been shown to interfere with developmental, behavioral, and reproductive outcomes in biological models and cell cultures. However, implications about exposure to TCS and human infertility are rare. Thus, the main of this review is summarize the available evidence of the association between triclosan exposure on human infertility. For this, systematic review was conducted following the recommendations established in Report of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guide (PRISMA). Initially, an electronic search in MEDLINE (via PubMed) and Science direct was performed. The methodological quality of the included studies was verified through the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklists. All selection and data extraction processes were carried out independently by two reviewers. The evidence was organized and presented using tables and narrative synthesis. There is lacking evidence about the association between triclosan and human infertility. Overall, no association between triclosan and infertility was found. However, semen quality and ovarian reserve are susceptible to triclosan exposure. Thus, future studies are still needed to better elucidate the associations between triclosan and infertility outcomes.

El presente artículo es una revisión sobre quórum-sensing como sistema de regulación dependiente de la acumulación en el medio ambiente de unas moléculas señal, denominadas autoinductores, sintetizadas durante el crecimiento microbiano, difundidas al exterior, para alcanza un umbral y generar de este modo una respuesta adaptativa. Microorganismos como Cándida habitante de la cavidad oral, tracto gastrointestinal y vagina, constituyen los agentes etiológicos de micosis oportunistas por excelencia, ocasionando mas del 50% de las infecciones fungicas a causa  del uso indiscriminado de antibióticos de amplio espectro, la implantación de material protésico y de órganos, la corticoterapia e inmunosupresión terapéutica o adquirida, registrandose  un aumento significativo de cuadros clínicos producidos por levaduras en los últimos años, con diversas manifestaciones dependientes de la localicacion de la infección y tipo de paciente. Recientemente, se ha demostrado que Candida albicans regula su transformación morfogénico a través de cambios en la densidad celular implicados en su poder patogenico utilizando moléculas señal como farnesol, tyrosol y ácido farnesóico. Es así, como en años recientes han sido publicadas diversas investigaciones orientadas a dilucidar los mecanismos de comunicacion microbiana mediante autoinductores. Por tal, el objeto de ésta revisión de literatura científica, tiene por objeto describir aspectos relacionados con los antecedentes históricos y el esclarecimiento acerca de la manera como C albicans utiliza éste mecanismo para la inducción de cambios morfogénicos por la sintesis de sustancias como farnesol, mediante la búsqueda, recopilación y revisión de artículos de publicación reciente en diversas bases de datos de carácter científico y médico.

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